Gwiboon: That's it? Because you think I have great qualification of being a good maid? Ha.
Jinki: You asked me why. So, I gave you my answer.
Gwiboon: Come on.
Jinki: Come on what?
Gwiboon: Seriously, Jinx? Just because I wake you up with the smell of fried bacon? Then what's the different between me and those waiters at the corner bistro ever served you in the morning? Babe, I believe you're way smarter than this.
Jinki: Boonie, Honey, oh that rhymed. Have you heard about the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Ever watch in fitness TV channel?
Gwiboon: For crying out loud! First, your comparison between me and a pancake house is quite insulting. Second, what's with this sudden unnecessary physical education lecture?
Jinki: Can't you see? I cannot start my day without breakfast.
Gwiboon: Meaning?
Jinki: Hello?! Breakfast is something really important for me.
Gwiboon: Meaning?
Jinki: In a very drastic measurement, my life doesn't exist if you're not making me breakfast, Boonie.
Gwiboon: You know you're too cheesy, right?
Jinki: I know.
Gwiboon: And you know I'm pretty much damned when I said I like it the way your words make my heart fluttered and urge me to kiss you at this very second, right?
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Boys only want love if it's torture
Don't say I didn't say, I didn't warn ya
Eighty seven. Eighty eight. Eighty nine.
What day is it again? He kept both eyes shut; it doesnât seem to have any difference at this moment. All is pitch black, sunrise looks like midnight and the dawn appears like an eternity without any sheer of light. Last night, he has another weird dream, a term he agreed with himself to call it as a replacement for nightmare. Itâs not frightening, itâs just odd.
In that dream he was standing in an undefined vast space full of shadow passing by and among those absurd creatures he caught a smile. Just smile, as if itâs floating on the air instead of belong to particular face. The smile was familiar for the Jinki in his dream. However, the sober Jinki could never tell who that is which stressed him way too far for a merely form of hallucination.
He stirred under the blanket. The uncomfortable weight of the mounds of cotton forced him to kick the poor duvet. Too heavy, it just flopped back to its position, only to irritate him even further. Palms pressed to his face, he wished the instant friction on the skin washed over the weariness.
But of course he could only wish.
Ninety. Ninety one. Ninety two.
Thereâs a slight crack on the wooden beams on his ceiling that he noticed just now. After he gave up and checked the life rotating around him. He then wondered, for how long the crack has been there. And how come it didnât catch his attention before today? Random calculation of the bending moment and load combination suddenly came up inside his twisted mind, occupy the vacant space heâs been neglecting these past weeks.
He blinks, one and two. His visionâs projecting the same image, hypnotizing in a way, hinting a pinch of motion sickness as a precaution. The crackâs there, still, visually concerning, but seemed like it doesnât bother the whole structure supporting the floor above. From down there, the crack is simply filling the gap, completing the entire system.
He wished the crack in his heart is as static as that. But of course, he could only wish.
Ninety three. Ninety four. Ninety five.
Distorted and obscure, thatâs how everythingâs pictured behind his closed back eyes. The timeline of his memory is jumbled, itâs patchy at the edge and fragmented inside and out. How it happened, he couldnât tell. But how it felt, he had at least half of the dictionary to complain about it. About how unfair it is, about how agonizing it is.
One moment in life, heâs seeing how happy Gwiboon talked about his corny jokes which deadly annoying but actually helping her dealing with the pressure of the fashion week at the same time. Any other second, he went red when the fraction of his memory flashed, force him to dredge up how he screamed directly to her face like a mad man, asking what kind of joke she was pulling out. She said she desperately wants to spend their bubble together, a little longer, until the day turns week, and week turns months. Then again she also stormed out the room on the next day, all drenched and broken, mimicking the same hazard occurred inside his chest.
Gwiboon is more than a crush, more than a fling, more than a good catch he discovered across the field. He wished she wasnât.
But of course, again, he could only wish.
Ninety six. Ninety seven.
Men can only wish, the sky, at the end, would be the one who decide was it worth to be granted or not. He spent a whole night in secluded beach, a hideout place he learnt from his grandfather, screaming to the far high sky, but the wound unfastened wider. At some point he admits, he was partly responsible. He wanted â and loved â the idea of a relationship, but terribly in fear for the actual relationship.
Whatâs bad for being in a relationship? You idiot, Lee Jinki! He cursed silently, for the thousand times already this week. That if he didnât count words spilled out his mouth when he was unconscious. Â Â
Ninety eight. Ninety nine.
Jinki can list at least ten reasons in less than five minutes why he didnât pull his ass together and man up telling Gwiboon his feeling instead dropping some barricade with the whole being-casual-and-letâs-not-put-any-label-on-it shenanigans. And out of those ten reasons, none of them because of something that Gwiboon did. Or feel.
After all, he has no heart to blame her.
Hundred.
***
Itâs easy to put a mask around the house, especially with a father whoâs that busy and a mother who recently found a new hobby in her flower arrangement club. Unfortunately, not when a little devil descendant like Lee Taemin is actually present.
Jinki is about to go out, suffocated inside his room and suddenly feeling skimpy with just helplessly cuddling his pillow. He finally charged his phone and took his iPod out from the dock. While the other family members are somewhere scattered between living room and the kitchen, he managed to take a very quick shower and put on some presentable clothes.
Today, he opted to pick brown-maroon sweater, attempt to distinguish his feeling after last week his Mom was complaining about all the black dirty laundry he piled up making her doubling the effort doing the laundry since she had to separate all those clothes to not ruin each other. He snatched pair of jeans carelessly and as if all the constellations are lined up to pinch a joke on him, it happened to be the cropped jeans Kim Gwiboon decided to put her magic on it a while ago.
âDo you like the idea of me making you clothes?â
Jinki looked up for just a second before focused back on the contemporary art book on his hands, âWhat does that supposed to mean? Sounds really domestic on my ears just now.â
âOh, please. I just asked permission, like, is it okay if I spice up your wardrobe a little bit?â
âI donât think I need any.. but if you insisted, then I guess itâs okay. Your hands wouldnât do something disastrous anyway.â
âGood. Because I already did,â she handed him back the jeans she stole from his wardrobe few days before, âYour jeans are all the same and I noticed you kept wearing the same ones over and over again I almost sure if I assessed it a little bit more attentively I would find holes at some point. Thatâs boring and I donât want my manâs boring. So give that a try and thank me later.â
He looked himself at the mirror, his eyes struck on both his ankle when the end of the jeans hanging with jumbled strain of threads, the vivid evidences that once, Kim Gwiboon existed in his dull life. To entertain his boring life.
Boring.
Yeah, maybe thatâs why she left me, because Iâm boring, Jinki thought.
He thought she would be forever, they would be forever, because finally Jinki thought he found someone who leveled very well with his obduracy without coercing themselves too far. Turned out, this time is not any different with the previous relationship that he head, got his hope high then spitted out back to the earth right on the top of rocky valley. Not like the thing he had with Gwiboon could be entitled a relationship anyway. He wouldnât dare to call it that.
If only I could muster up some courage back then and just asked her out in a very proper way, I would feel so much worthier than merely a fuck buddy.
He pocketed the car keys, inhaled a very deep breath, practiced his auto-reply smile before exited his dungeon. And there he is, waiting by the corner of the breakfast island, the devious Lee Taemin whoâs always up to roast his own brother.
âOh, hello universe. The grad student is finally showed up! Congratulation!! We need to celebrate this very soon! Should I buy some champagne?â
Jinki kicked the stool where he sit furiously before poured himself a good amount of orange juice, the bright yellow liquid vanished in less than thirty seconds.
âI heard from your Mom, Buddy. Finally, youâre going.â
âItâs not in anytime soon, Dad. I just got accepted. Barely finish my final project here.â
âBut you can still take the long distance single course for the first semester right?â
His father had been busy coming back and forth among Seoul, Tokyo, and London. There wouldnât be any chance left for him to go through in his courting mode and interviewing his mother because the woman would shower him with the story of her new club before he could ask anything.
âWho told you that?â
âYour brother.â
He shot a glare to Taemin who stopped middle air from shoving a piece of taco to his mouth, âDonât blame me. That man come to me with new pair of shoes, of course I surrendered.â
âThat man is your father!â his mother slapped the back of his head which attained an annoying squeal from the youngest son.
âI am worried a little bit about you, Jinki.â
Thereâs a reason why his father now became a very famous attorney. His instinct works beyond human shield.
âDonât be, Dad. I will be fine. Itâs just too handful a bit now, with the final project, preparation, and also adjust the online course and everything.â
âIf only you picked London, I have lots of acquaintance there who can actually help you.â
âThatâs in some measure, the reason why I picked Chicago. Too many people we know in London, Dad, they might judge as well while stretching a helpful hand. Besides, it was my first choice since the bachelor but the beautiful lady over there was begging like a toddler seven years ago for me not to go there too early. I wonât give up my dream twice.â
Thanks to cousin Minjung and her obsession on NBA when theyâre in the grade school. Whenever she visited, she gushed about this Chicago Bullâs to the siblings and triggered a very young Jinki to go to his fatherâs library and checking some books about the place along the Lake Michigan. Soon enough, he fell for the Windy City and dreamed to move and work as an architect there.
âAnd yet, see how stubborn you grew up into. So much effort I pulled to keep you grounded next to me. At the end youâd flee away still.â
âYou better go sooner or she reenacted the same scene again, Buddy,â his father winked to him, knowing Jinki would be at least smiling on it.
âRoger that, Pops! Iâm going!â
Taemin looks dejected on his seat, this is the first time since forever Jinkiâs finally leaving his sanctuary that heâs witnessing and he didnât even pay attention to him. Is he okay? Did he find another girl already? Taemin is way more worried than he used to be.
âWhere?! For a date?! Why?! How?! With whom?! Why did you leave me here?! Why didnât you say anything to me?! Dude!â
âStop the commotion right there, Lee Taemin. I called Junghee this morning both of you are going with me to shop for my next club gathering.â
âWhy on earth you called her?! And how do you know her number?! Mom!!â
The scene left Jinki shaking his head and chortling, somehow, a bit of pleasant feeling occupied his hollow core. That might be the one he would be missing so much when heâs alone abroad. However, the excitement of finally leaving all the traces screaming Gwiboonâs name whenever he turned is all that he can think about now and then. What a perfect excuse. He canât wait to run away from every single memory of her in this house, this town, this time zone that had been hunted him ever since she asked him not to see each other anymore.
***
Jinki stood right at the check-out desk, dropped his favorite red bean buns and pulled out the wallet from his back pocket. The first thing greeted him when he opened it was the silly picture of him and Gwiboon they took one day at the photo box near Jinkiâs favorite arcade because it was suddenly pouring hard. He still has no gut to throw it out because deep down he realized when he took it out, when he finally took it out, it means he needs to let it go everything and he hasnât down for it any closer yet.
âThatâs all?â
The question of the boy in front of him breaks the bubbles inside his head. Jinkiâs eyes went pass him and caught the rack full of cigarettes behind. How tempting in so many ways.
A calm voice intrigued his consciousness. He looked around for a while until a woman with short blonde hair is intruding his personal view more.
âAmber, right?â
âYeah. I thought I called the wrong person.â
âHow so? Do I look different with his hair?â Jinki jokingly pointed to his choppy hair. He attempted to cut it by himself last week since he didnât want to go to his regular barber shop, the man over there would talk nonstop and that was the last thing he desired. The result as everyone can see, was beyond awful. Letâs just all be relieved that his hair grows in the speed of light.
âA little bit,â Amber chuckled seeing how his hair seemed done by a blind person, âBut mostly because you look tired.â
Jinki laughed, but not really laughing, âJust woke up and drove here. Stay up late for the final project. How are you?â
Of course he lied, who wants to turn the situation into an awkward moment by blurted out how messed up theyâre currently?
âIâm good! Quite busy at the studio but that means weâre growing. So Iâm not really complaining.â
âSounds great.â
Sounds annoying. Why canât other people as miserable as me?
âTotally,â she looks very pumped and Jinki felt so bad for not reacting with the same level of excitement, âAnd how is it going with you?â
âBusy but not, bored but not, just.. so so.. you know?â Jinki snorted, tad nervous with such a simple question.
âAh, I know.. it must be difficult for you as well.â
âAs well? I thought the studioâs doing great. Youâre going through something?â
Guess itâs a blessing and a curse at the same time having his personality. Being born Jinki, he canât just ignored peopleâs feeling even though he knew heâs not in the current capacity to help.
âNo, no, yeah, Iâm great, studio, factory, all is well. I mean besides Gwiboon.. it must be hard time for you too, you know⊠with all this situation.â
Jinki doesnât remember he told anyone what happened between him and the girl. Not even Taemin actually, but that kid was probably a CIA in his previous life Jinki didnât find the necessity to tell him, nonetheless he would still just come up with some weird ideas to cheer his brother up.
Like the other day, suddenly stack of Mars appeared on his side of fridge â yes, he has his own territory inside that place because once their mother got rid of something belong to him, he exploded like a land mine. Or suddenly, chicken bucket greeted him by the corner of his desk when he came back home almost four in the morning.
But besides that, he kept everything inside. Not any single word of her came out from him after that day. She must have gone to Amber to unload her heart and narrate some stuff about them.
âWhat can I say?â He sent her small smile but it looks bitterer than the last pills he took for his migraine two days ago.
âIâm sorry, for both of you, really. Itâs always hard to choose when it comes for this kind of crossroad, even a very smart one can be the most indecisive human being on earth. I was in her position before. In my case though, I was so much more hardheaded than Gwiboon, that way it was easier for me to leave everything behind. Gwiboon was still nice enough to think about other people around her. Her brother, you, and even her crazy parents who donât even care. You may already know how hard her father is to his children.â
Hard to choose? Between what? Father? Why suddenly she brought up her father when Gwiboon herself never talked about the said man? Not even Jonghyun who had been friend with him longer than his sister.
âI still remember she ruck-sacked my office all tears and snots rambling about she doesnât mind throwing herself under the bus as long as she can stay here and not being sent to the states. Poor girl.â
Staâwait, what?
He thought he knew Gwiboon, this new found though, completely confused him to the staple. After a very quick self-deliberation, he decided to play along and stay chill. Jinkiâs afraid Amber would realize she did something sheâs banned to and just left the conversation hanging on the air while Jinki finally can grasp the whole portrait of the puzzle Gwiboon left behind.
âAh she told you that?â
For Jinki that was a pure question, with a tint of hope Amber would leak some circumstances a little bit more. However for Amber, she heard that as a response of bemusement as if Gwiboon not supposed to tell anyone that and kept it only between her and Jinki.
âI am really sorry. She didnât want to say anything at first, but I guess I was too pushy and it happened that she just couldnât handle it by herself anymore. Her dreââ
Amberâs phone beeped before she could finish her sentence. She excused herself to check the message and immediately glancing to her wrist, unpleasant airâs very evident on her face.
âJinki, it was really nice stumbled into you. The work is calling, though, so.. if you donât mind..â
âAh, yeah. Of course. Sorry I was holding you here. Thanks for the quick catch up.â
âYou take care, okay?â
âI will. See you around, Amber!â
Within a minute, Amber already leaving the side of the street they were standing. Jinki felt the need of caffeine boiling inside him is just got tripled.
***
Jinki accomplished simple tasks by eleven in the morning. He changed his sheets, almost one months later â finally, his mother almost burn the filthy mattress together with it, he made himself a good cup of coffee and grilled cheese, and now started to make trial renders for his interior proposal of his final project.
He put aside his ego and locked it at the corner of the back of his head after he met Amber and of course a long drive to his grandfather graveyard only to eat two whole chicken bucket while talking to his headstone. He obviously earned very weird and awkward gazes from the other people who happened visiting their beloved ones but he didnât mind even slightly, because at the end of the day heâs convinced, at least Gwiboon left not completely because him.
Another reason is because his professor sent him an email reminded him if he still desired to graduate by the next batch, he needs to submit 50% of the final material no later than the next week. Therefore, the reasonable part of Jinki strangled the overly sensitive and emotional self to the ground and chained him for their own good.
And of course the last part was only happened inside his head but who cares? He finally managed to control his adrenaline by eating one kilogram of avocado for each meal yesterday. Healthy or unhealthy, the people in his house could only judge. With the amount of obstinacy he owned, nobodyâs able to change anything.
âJinx, you got a package,â Taemin trespassed the door on ease knowing heâs currently having the upper hand in the house after seeing the effect of his tattle tale nature on Jinki, âDid you order something?â
âI ordered pork stew and some soondae two minutes ago but I donât think it would come this fast and Iâm pretty sure they came in different container.â
âFunny,â Taemin dropped the small brown box on his desk, âI went to the mailbox to check my shoes but I found it instead.â
âYou do have some shoes fetish, donât you?â
âSo what can I do if Reebok just released its new classic edition? Sleeping soundly at night knowing thousands people out there sporting the goods while I can only dream about it? Do you want to see the world burnt? Hell no!â
Jinkiâs taken aback with the sudden outburst he didnât expect. Those shoes must cost him such fortune, he shrugged and reached the package.
âWho sent this?â
âHow would I know?â
Jinki assessed the wrapper, it does have the stamp of the courier company, so it must be sent through mail. But oddly enough, they let this package passed with no name or address from the sender was written on it. And lately, he didnât order anything besides food. Or taxi, when the other day Taemin was sneaky enough being an asshole by taking his car to go on a date.
âYou brought anonymous package inside my room? How could you? Donât go anywhere until I opened it!â
Taemin wasnât planning to go out soon anyway, but the shrieking voice released from Jinkiâs mouth was insulting his pride enough.
âWhat? Did Mom finally rub you off too hard? You sounded exactly like her just now! And it was just a ridiculous package! Might be from your fans who finally found our address!â
âMight be a bomb as well! If this one exploded, Iâm taking you with me!â
âDid you even hear yourself? Who do you think you are? President? Prince Harry? Bruno Mars?â
âTerrorism doesnât own GPS nor common sense!â
âNeither do you!â he dropped himself to Jinkiâs mattress after he couldnât find any leftover of candies Jinki used to have here and there on his bookshelf, âWho knows it would be just fans gift like before? And who knows you donât want it and I got to have that?â
Jinki finally realized the reason why his brother not leaving immediately after he dropped the good. It canât be bad, this one went through the courier company scanning system, the worst he could get is a stupid prank from someone or like Taemin said, a gift from admirer.
âBut I havenât been on stage since God knows how long!â
âJesus Christ, just open it for crying out loud! Iâll do it if youâre too scared!â
Taeminâs this close ripping Jinkiâs pillow into two. Snickered lowly, he started peeling the wrapper only to find a fine maroon box with silver band tied it together. Once the content peeking through the opening Jinki made carefully, eruption of emotion burst under his skin.
Safely kept inside the box, all the Polaroid photos Gwiboon had been taking when they were together, she obsessed with Polaroid and could take three pictures at a time. The amount of love floating from the piles started to suffocate Jinki. They were happy, itâs started and ended in a disaster but they were happy.
He picked one where both of them doing stupid faces, it was in her studio where they spent the whole night working on their own deadlines. 3 AM, with the best companion ever, thatâs how she wrote below.
âWhen Jinki being an architectâ
âI had enough for todayâ
âCoffee timeâ
âLook at meeeeâ
âHe said Iâm cute in this oneâ
âThe sweetest bunnyâ
âJinkiâs number :)â
âCanât help but being sloth to him :Pâ
âWinter Projectâ
âHe gives the best hugâ
âHis baby carrot fingers :3â
âHow the sun looks when heâs sleepyâ
âMine <3â
She left her message in almost every picture. And the last one nearly breaks the guard on his eyes. Mine, he brushes her cute hand writings, bitter smile adorned his gloomy face promptly. It was him, lips all red pursing like baby penguin, looks like he was arguing something and she didnât miss the chance to frame his upset state. Â
He doesnât know her whereabouts, phone calls and texts he sent only reciprocated by the provider service messages telling him the number had been deactivated. Yet now, he received the only traces left of her, returned back to him, as if she tried getting rid the last footprints of him that she possessed. Itâs saddening.
Jinki continued digging the pictures, grimace, smirk, smile, and frowns appeared one to another, enlightened Taemin â who kept his brother in check by the corner of his eyes â that it was some important package. One Polaroid however was purposely been stuck to the bottom of the box.
Gwiboon was smiling, so bright, angelic and mesmerizing, with Jinki glued to her side, nuzzling her cheek, grin splitting on his half face printed on it, so evident it hurts.
â98258â
It stunned him immediately. Still in daze, the sound of Gwiboonâs voice mocking him and his fixation on oldie stuff is echoing so loud inside his head. Thatâs started with simple conversation of current fashion trend which brought back the vibe from 90s. One thing led to another, both of them spent the rest of the night in front of Jinkiâs laptop checking how the youngster using beeper to send each other message back then. He was so excited when they found this website full of silly quizzes where you need to encrypt the hidden message behind those series of number. Â And of course Gwiboon was annoyed because most of the time, it was Jinki whoâs able to guess it correctly.
Even now.
âTaem.â
âHmm?â he tried to act as nonchalant as possible but his ears perked so bad, desperately want to know what his brother is going to say.
âHow do you know you love someone?â
He cocked his head to the side, just to found Jinki looking forlornly to the small box, âHow do I know I love someone?â
âDid I ask the wrong person?â Jinki let out dry chuckle to ease Taemin.
âHa. You may say so,â Taemin puffed the sides of the pillow under his head, âThis may sound so pretentious and would make you cringed at some point, but I guess, nobody knows, Jinx. Itâs not weather that you could forecast, not something that obvious as if you look at your window and be like crap-itâs-raining-outside. Itâs just⊠happened. Some are lucky enough to be more aware than the other. Some are just too oblivious until the end, until they had the urge to invent the impossible time machine.â
âAnd some are just too dumb and chicken out when they realized theyâre in love.â
âWere you in love?â
Jinkiâs eyes fluttered close to the question, âI am.â
âOh.â
âYeah, oh.â
Silence fell once again between the two. Taeminâs digesting still all the unexpected confession he just heard while Jinki now stared blankly to the pile of Polaroid spread over the surface of his desk. Recollection brewed inside his head, somehow heâs quite proud, half awe-struck half regretted, how they managed to have this much memory in a very limited time. Indeed, time is just a concept, itâs all relative up to the point you desperately need to stretch one slice of its epoch.
âSorry, I was disappointing with my stupid try-to-be-poetic answer. Never been in love before, never expected Iâd be, but one thing I can say to you because youâre my brother and even though weâre not twins we have this scary gene connection which is too similar and I bet twins would questioning themselves once they acknowledge this, if you found yourself relating random tiny detail to certain someone, you might as well go for it, then.â
âIs that what happened with you?â Jinki timidly asked, afraid that Taemin could proof further how he missed his chance by assuming he knew whatâs the best for him and Gwiboon for these past months.
âDo you realize that the color of your wood structure is exactly the same color of Jungheeâs eyes under the sun? Of course you donât. So, yeah, more or less, thatâs what happened with me.â
His eyes locked to one of the photo. Gwiboon was smiling on it, hair pulled up into his favorite messy bun, one shoulder exposed to the sun flares seeping through his window and touched the glowing skin on it. She looked so serene, the most beautiful he had ever seen, because in this one, he could see the genuine Gwiboon under those rumors, those pointed fingers, those make ups, pretty clothing, cynical comments and cold surfaces she put as masks. Sheâs the Gwiboon who he fell for.
And his heart clenched for he still vividly recalled how he convinced Gwiboon to let him took that picture of her the minute she opened her eyes, the girl finally gave up after he threatened her he would withheld her favorite shower sex. Worked like magic back then.
And worked like poison now once he realized itâs simply a painful memory left he held tight.
âCan you do me a last favor?â
âSounds erotic,â he yawned and ready to slither inside Jinkiâs comforter, âBoth of us knew very well it wonât be the last, but yeah, shoot it.â
***
The house is painted dusted blue, huge window pane by the right far covered with light grey curtain from the inside, preventing people to peek on whatâs behind the glass. The porch is not that big, but enough to accommodate couple of wooden chair with small concrete table. Thereâs no vehicle present in the carport, only an old skateboard leaned to the white wall separating the house with the neighbor.
Jinki nervously double check his phone, reciting the address written on the screen to himself, then make sure the number there is the same with the one placed on the wall.
He has never been here before, clearly. He licks his dry lips for the nth time this morning and glanced to his watch. Ten minutes late. Damn you bridge construction, he mumbled. Heâs debating whether he should make a call or just go press the ring bell.
At the end, after another minute delaying himself like a sweaty anxious provincial exam taker, he opted to the second one. Vaguely, he heard someoneâs approaching, and the door in front of him swung open inside. A familiar face greeted him with small nod and smile.
âTook you longer than I expected.â
âWell, need some time to make a peace with everything, I guess? I asked your number to Taemin just yesterday.â
âCome on in, then.â
âThanks, Minho.â
***
cross-posted on my AFF couple weeks ago :)
This one is purposely written to center on Jinki, and the universe rolling around him. I am excited but also quite sad that the next chapter will be the last one. Thank you for reading and following this story. Hopefully, you like this chapter and the upcoming one as well! As usual, I only wish for your happiness wherever you are! Comments are always welcome! XOXO
P.S.: do you know whatâs the beeper message mean? Let me know if you can guess! :P
Eunsook is staring at the two candlelights on the table. The table cloth is her grandmother's and used only for special occasions. The meat is in the oven, the rice in the cooker and the salad prepared and already on the table.Â
Kibum hasnât even arrived home yet but still, sheâs waiting anxiously to tell him what has been on her mind since she returned home.
Itâs kind of ridiculous for her to create a meal like this when itâs no big deal. Except it is a big deal and Eunsook doesnât really know how to relay the news to him. Thatâs why sheâs been setting it up like this, obviously creating an occasion. She hopes itâll lead him in the right direction. At least a little bit.
Kibum arrives home 5 minutes later and Eunsook jumps at the sound as the front door closes. Her nerves are frayed and she is twisting her hair around her finger over and over again while she listens to him getting undressed.
He slips inside the kitchen and raises an eyebrow in surprise.
âDid I forget something?â Kibum asks when he notices the food and the beautifully made table and Eunsook bites her lower lip and shakes her head a little. âSookieâŠâ
Eunsook cringes a little and looks up with an exhale.
âNo no, weâre fine! I just wanted to do something special for today.â
Kibum doesnât buy it, however, and he walks towards her and wraps his hands around her waist and kisses her forehead. Eunsook chides herself for feeling so weak in his company.
Itâs ridiculous because theyâve been together for 4 years already and she should be able to withstand his cheesiness but right now she just wants to curl up against him and feel protected from the world.
âI didnât forget our anniversary, did I?â Kibum asks with a mischievous tone. They both know he would never forget that. Thereâs a bigger possibility of Eunsook forgetting their anniversary than Kibum forgetting but she appreciates that he asks anyway.
She shakes her head before she leaves his embrace so she can scoop rice into two bowls.
âI have something to tell you, but letâs eat first,â she says, then she curses herself for being a coward.
Kibum doesnât say anything, he doesnât force her to say anything either and the silence that slowly envelops them in the kitchen is comfortable.
Eunsook is still anxious, though, and it translate to everything she does. She spills rice when she tries to take a bite, burns her fingers when she tries cutting the ribs and almost tips over her glass of water when she reaches towards the salad leaves.
Kibum grabs her hand and intertwines their fingers.
âYou should tell me whatâs going on instead of being so jittery. Youâll end up getting hurt and I would really prefer whatever you have to say over having to drive you to the hospital with an injury.â
Eunsook looks away shyly before she takes a deep breath and turns back to face him.
âOkay so⊠Iâve been feeling quite exhausted these past few weeks and you know that.â Kibum nods and urges her to continue. âYeah, well, so I talked to Taeyeon and she suggested going to the doctor, right?â Eunsook pauses and looks at Kibum to make sure heâs following her. âOkay, so I said I would go to the doctor but then I realised that my period was two weeks late and Iâm not sure how I missed it but the point is âŠâ
Another break wherein Kibumâs eyes widen as he soaks up the information.
âYouâre pregnant,â he says.
âIâm pregnant,â she confirms. Silence slips over the kitchen and the couple. Eunsook chews on her lower lip as she gauges his expression. She didnât expect him to shout and get angry, not really, but the silence makes her anxious as well. Kibum blinks.
âYouâre pregnant,â he says again and Eunsook nods and bites her lower lip so hard it starts bleeding. âYouâre pregnant.â
Eunsook whines a little and shakes their locked hands and almost tips over the candlelights.
âSay something else,â she begs and Kibum lets go of her hand so he can stand and walk to her side. She looks at him but is unable to read his expression and it scares her. Damn, she knew they shouldâve been more careful. She couldâve gotten an abortion without him knowing and all.
Kibum takes her cheeks in his hands and leans down to kiss her lips and Eunsook squeals in surprise.
âYouâre fucking pregnant! Thatâs amazing!â Kibum says when he lets go of her lips and Eunsook sighs relieved, her shoulders sagging with relief.
âReally?â she asks and Kibum nods.
âYes.â
She stands up beside him and wraps her arms around him and Kibum embraces her like itâs the most natural thing ever. It is, if sheâs honest. She belongs in his arms like this. Itâs comfortable now that she has finally said the words. Whatâs going to happen she doesnât know but Kibumâs warmth is enough to comfort her. He lets go of her a little while later and presses a kiss to her forehead.
âI love you Lee Eunsook,â he says and Eunsook blushes a little.
âKibumâŠâ she whines and Kibum chuckles.Â
He lifts her up and Eunsook squeals again as she presses close to him, hangs on tight so he doesnât drop her.
He puts her down on the back of the couch and Eunsook grabs the fabric to stay seated, Kibum standing in between her legs.
âItâs the best thing you couldâve told me,â he says. âNow I only need to get on one knee.â
Eunsook widens her eyes.
âDonât you dare!â she says and Kibum blinks in confusion.
âWhat?â
Eunsook just shakes her head a little.
âWeâre not getting married because Iâm pregnant.â Kibum is at a loss for words. âI want to marry you because you love me and truly wants to marry me, not just because Iâm pregnant.â
Her heart flutters when Kibum sends her a soft smile and presses another kiss to her forehead.
âMy strong independent woman. God, I love you so much Eunsook.â
She smiles shyly at the praise.
âI love you too.â
Then she leans up towards him and locks their lips, her hands resting over his shoulders and he grabs her waist and leans into the kiss. When he lets go he rests his hand on her stomach and Eunsook removes it. Kibum looks at her confused.
âI feel fat when you do that,â she says and Kibum laughs.
âYouâll be the most beautiful pregnant woman on Earth.â
Waking up to nothing when youâre super far for home
And I watched you fall asleep at night and lay there on my own
Got me begging for affection
All you do is roll your eyes
Broken down, Iâve had enough
If this is love, I donât want it
â Super Far, LANY
***
âEnjoy your trip! Stay out of trouble :)â
She wipes the screen with her thumb. Endlessly. She read it again and again, each letters, hoping it would be changed miraculously. Â For hundreds time. Or maybe more. If thereâs one thing that sheâs grateful about, it is the fact that so far, Jungsoo and her are not awkward to each other. On the text basis at least. She hasnât figured it out how it would feel when they met. After that night, they havenât had chance to see each other again.
Two and half years. Almost thousand nights shared together, thousand sunsets and sunrises. A beautiful journey to pursue, until both are too tired to compromised, Jungsoo more likely. At the end of the day, he had different dream. Different expectation.
The last two months are very dreadful for Eunsook. She kept blaming herself until her best friend convinced her to rest her case. Free her soul for her own good because she deserved better.
So when Junghee offered to come over visit her and Minho to their new house, she didnât think twice booking the ticket for a summer escapades. And now, here she is, anxiously waiting for her flight at the boarding room. Checking her phone continuously without even aware that sheâs torturing herself for some ruined story.
Drown in her thought, she jolts a bit when the phone vibrates in her hand.
âWhere are you now?â
She massaged her forehead hearing how her best friend shouted, âI just texted you ten minutes ago. Of course Iâm still waiting for my fuckinâ plane!â
âI wonder if you left your mouth at home purposely when youâre studying at school. Your language sounds uneducated. Besides, itâs not annoying when your best friend checking on you to make sure youâre not suicidal.â
âBest friend wonât make up a scene where Iâm doing such a reckless action.â
Eunsook sighed again, and Junghee frowned on the other line.
âAre you okay, honey?â
âWe are not even thinking about engagement, Junghee-ah.â
âAnd thatâs why I always said that heâs stupid.â
âHeâs not.â
âThen what?!â Jungheeâs almost shrieking on her couch.
âHe just realized I was holding him back.â
âHolding him back for what?! For a better life?! How can you still defend him? At this point I cannot tell who the brainless one is.â
âYou are the brainless one! You got married too fast!â
Eunsook tried to divert her to the topic she loves the best.
âDonât blame me! Minho is just too good!â
âAnd youâre too weak.â
âWho canât resist a very beautiful rose diamond ring?â
The lady sitting next to her gives her the eye when Eunsook cracks loudly.
âMy materialistic woman. This is why I love you, Kim Junghee!â
âCome here quickly! I miss you so much you have no idea!â
âI miss you too, baby! Iâll see you in couple hours!â
âStay out of trouble! See you soon!â
Eunsook pressed the red circle on her phone. Same words, different feeling, she thought. She sighed for the umpteenth time that day when the announcement is telling her to get on the plane.
***
âLee Eunsook!!â
Junghee already shouting when thereâs still around 100 meter distance between them. Minho can only chuckle and try so hard covering his face while his wife embarrassing themselves. She beams right away when she saw Junghee jumps around flailing her arms, looks like a very excited five years old.
âOh my good grace! Finally!â
Minho automatically takes Eunsookâs luggage from her hand when he saw Junghee hugged her excessively.
âYouâre killing me, woman!â
But Junghee doesnât care because she understand what Eunsook had been through.
âLetâs go! Iâve cooked your favorite dish!â
She doesnât allow Eunsook to have time to think again for sheâs afraid her best friend would feel lonelier after she released her from the embrace. Â
âFried chicken?â
Her lips pouting immediately, âYour second favorite, then.â
âSeafood?â
âWhat the hell, Lee Eunsook! Italy changed you!â
âI always love fried chicken and seafood!â
âWhatever! You need to eat! A lot! I donât like be friend with a walking skeleton!â
âCan you see my thighs are bigger than yours?â
Junghee just ran faster to the exit direction, preventing them to recognize the full brim on her eyes.
âWhat have she cooked, actually?â Eunsook canât help but ask Minho while they walked side by side.
âThe whole restaurant.â
âWhat?!â
Minho laughed when he saw Eunsookâs eyes doubled their size, âYou know itâs her way to comfort people around her.â
âI know.â
âAnd she wanted only the best for her best friend. If you know what I mean.â
âAnd I know exactly what you mean.â
âYou okay now?â
Minhoâs voice sounds concerned and he didnât even try to hide it, âTaemin called me. He said youâve been weeping like a trooperâs widow. Iâm quoting, here. Not my own words.â
âThat ungrateful traitor. It was two months ago. Iâm doing great ever since.â
He turned his face to seek for the truth on her eyes but Eunsook is too smart to hang the poker face perfectly.
âCome on, or your wife will kill both of us.â
Minho shrugged, remembers very well how Junghee stomped around the house cursing for hours when she knew the reason why Jungsoo told her how he felt, a week after Eunsookâs birthday.
***
âSo you will back to Italy?â
âI think so. My boss doesnât have the guts to keep me on the office with only my study visa. He already did his best to let me extend my internship for one more semester, though. Now I have no more reason to postpone my graduation. So, yeah, I will be back to Italy next month and graduate in October.â
âIf only itâs easy to get a job in Netherlands, I would ask you to move here.â
Eunsook chuckles and takes another sip of the beer, âNo need to worry, baby. Iâve applied for some job in London. Their responseâs so far so good.â
âI really hope you got this one!â
She raised her eyebrow when she caught Junghee is half squealing, âWhy? So Iâd forget everything about him?â
Caught red handed, Junghee gulped down her wine quickly.
âWell, 80% yes.â
âAnd the rest?â
âSo I get to visit you in London! That would be amazing! Junghee and Eunsook take London down the sequel!â
Eunsook doesnât need to be told to crack on huge laughter. Back then, after their high school graduation, they decided to take a gap year and went to London to learn better English. Eunsook, while taking a part time as staff in museum on weekend, started the class right away since her father already arranged everything on the institute for her. Junghee on the other hand, ditch the English class for studying painting and working in a restaurant at night instead. But thatâs how she met Minho who happened to be a part time student taking night shifts there.
âWhy you always get the best part when it comes to London?â
âLife is a choice, honey. You can be a traveler but youâre too cool so you choose to be a designer.â
âItâs not fair.â
âEverything is fair in love and war.â
âAnd whatâs from that has thing to do here?â
âI donât know.. I think Iâm already drunk.â
The two best friends start to laugh again, immersed with the each-other-life-catching-up-session, they arenât aware Minho is already by the door, sweater on and keys in hand.
âBaby, Iâm going.â
âOh! What?! Where?â
âIâm picking Kibum up. Itâs raining and heâs afraid it will ruin his equipment.â
Both checks the window and found out its pouring hard outside, âOh I didnât realize.â
âWho will realize if theyâre too excited interrogating Eunsook?â Sheâs jutting her mouth and Minho kissed her goodbye, âWeâll grab some drink after and be back soon!!â
Jungheeâs shooing her husband away and when sheâs back to her best friend, the latter knits her brows together, clueless all over her face.
âWho is Kibum?â
âAh! I forget to tell you! Heâs the guy whoâs currently living in the other room.â
âAnd whoâs the guy that currently living in the other room?â
Junghee bursts out in an un-ladylike laughter and Eunsookâs getting more annoyed, âSorry, baby. Well, Kibum and I went to middle school together. Heâs happened to be Minhoâs neighbor back in Seoul. He was searching for a temporary place to stay when we put the ads of the vacant room online. Heâs a photographer and has some project here for his indie magazine. So, yeah.â
âSo, yeah?â
She rolled her eyes, âI mean, I know itâs my bad, Iâm really sorry I didnât tell you this before. But youâre okay with this, right?â
Actually Eunsook is not that comfortable because sheâs the only one who doesnât know this Kibum guy. And since middle school, she realized she hates being an outcast since sheâs quite awkward with new people.
âWell, this is your house, soâŠâ
Knowing the nature of her best friend, Junghee jumped a bit on her seat, âDonât worry, baby! Heâs a really nice guy. Youâll like him in no time, I promise. Heâs too busy anyway, so I guess itâs rarely youâll meet him in the house.â
âWhatever.â
Eunsook muttered almost silently and thank God Junghee didnât catch this one.
***
âAny idea what you gonna do today?â
Junghee dropped pile of pancakes on Eunsookâs plate, making the latterâs eyes filled with happiness. Warmth of jolly brought Junghee beaming so wide, after all, seeing her best friend still her best friend, a girl who appreciates simple things and turns it into happiness.
âHave no plan. I just bought the ticket, packed my stuff, and flew here. No itinerary, no schedule. Iâm a complete blank paper now.â
âGood!â Junghee took a place in front of her and started her own breakfast, âWe should go shopping today! Itâs been so long since I bought new shoes.â
âThen what do you call those brown leathery goods you purchased last month, love?â
Minho rests his arm across her shoulder while take the seat.
âThatâs because it was on sale! And it came in a set with yours! I got that because we couldnât buy it separately if we want the sale price, Mister!â
âFor Godâs sake! Itâs not even nine! Can you both let others have a quiet breakfast?â
Eunsookâs eyes darted to the stair at the corner, and she became restless out of nowhere. A tall guy with pale face paces down, dark hair bounced fluffily like a black cotton candy with each step. Those skinny jeans seemed too tight on his long limbs but he balanced it somehow with an oversized t-shirt. Â He walked pass them to grab some coffee as if Eunsook is not there.
âThis is my house and I can do whatever I want, dude.â
Minho throws a grapefruit to his direction which the latter luckily caught it.
âI will kill you if you made me drop my cup. That lady next to you will voluntary skin me alive if I messed up her kitchen!â
âYou deserved that?â
Three of them keep arguing and laughing while Eunsook has her lips sealed, trying to enjoy her pancakes peacefully, ignoring the scene happened there even though she knew itâs getting hard for her to swallow each bite since the bright room suddenly is too suffocating.
Until Kibum realized heâs a stranger to someone. He gave Junghee a hint with his chin and she makes a voiceless âOâ.
âEunsook-ah! This is the guy I told you about. Kibum, this is my best friend Eunsook. She will stay here for vacation. And I will not only skin you but sell your flesh to the market if you dare to make a move on her.â
Eunsook almost spilled out the coffee inside her mouth, she tosses the closest napkin to Jungheeâs face which luckily dodged it very well.
âAnd you only blame me while itâs also your fault for having a friend who is too pretty?â he stretched out her hand to Eunsook, âKim Kibum. Nice to meet you, and please ignore Junghee whenever she said bad things about me. She still holds grudge since middle school because I grew 12 centimeters taller than her.â
âLee Eunsook. Donât worry, sheâs too loud I already cover my ears the second sheâs about to open her mouth.â
A beautiful curve formed on her face, she smiled so bright Kibum got dizzy for a moment. Thereâs something so soft touched his heart and heâs pretty sure itâs related to those fluffy rosy cheeks.
âCan you stop hogging my friendâs hand like that?!â
Minho let out a poisonous laughter because he understands why Kibum acts like that. Eunsook herself is already crimson red when Kibum retreat his hand.
âSee?! This is your fault, Kim Junghee.â
âYou are the one who cannot control your thirst!â
âForgive me, princess,â he cocked his head to Eunsook, âBut your friend really has wild mouth. I canât resist slapping her sometimes.â
âOh, please be my guest! Since I have no heart to harm her even though she deserved it.â
Junghee balled her fist when Kibum and Eunsook join the force through a friendly high five, leaving Minho with no option than console her by kissing the side of her head.
âDonât worry, I still love you, baby.â
âYou better be!â she then kissed Minho which the latter complied.
Eunsook naturally can only pull out a bitter smile. The scene happened in front of her, it would be hers six months ago. She would be exactly like her best friend, in love and beloved.
Whilst Minho and Junghee are busy in their own bubble, Kibum didnât fail to catch the changed expression on Eunsook. But heâd rather to shake it off than ask her further question or make sure sheâs alright which might too rude for a new acquaintance.
âGo back to your room if you want to continue for the second round! This view is polluting my precious eyes.â
âI said this is my house, Kim Kibum.â
With that Minho continued peppering his wife with kisses all over her face which makes Kibum decided to imitate puking voice that surprisingly makes Eunsook chuckled.
Once again, something soft tickling Kibumâs heart.
***
Sometimes, we just donât realize we will meet the one, do we? Love after all, is a beautiful thinking that we probably only dream about until the tiniest detail of each counterpart, but turned us to be so oblivious when it brought into reality. Isnât it pretty amazing? :)
This one is for my anon who requested #10. Very quick scribble. Hope you like it :))
Prompt is from this list
âââââââââââââ
âIf you use up all the hot water again, I swear to God! Youâre on the couch for a month!!â
Jinki is shouting to the mirror in their bathroom but it darted to Gwiboon whoâs reading peacefully as if nothing happened.
âChill, Babe. It's not like a world war or something.â
âChill you said?â His hand hung on the air, paused drying his hair, in disbelief what he just heard, âI came back home after long day in the office, wondering how great it would to be refreshed under hot shower. But when I got home?! Not even one drop! Thank you very much!â
She casually flipped the next page, âIf you're talking about refresh, the cold water is so much better!â
âNot when all my muscle tangled tightly one to another!â Jinki continue to dry his hair, now in such angry speed.
âIt's Wednesday. I thought you're gonna be at the gym.â
Jinki sighed when he remember what happened exactly 30 minutes before the hours finished, âMinho ditched me when the new interior designer said yes to have dinner with him.â
âOh, my poor man.â
He then brushed his teeth furiously when he realized nothing's changed from Gwiboon's tone.
âWfvhuat ar yue deuin tu spen ol de hot wutah?â
âWhat? I couldn't get you, Honey.â
âYe know wfvhat ai muent.â
Gwiboon curses silently, five years of relationship made Jinki knew her too well up until the part of advancing in understanding each other's alien language.
âYou know that last week both of us were too busy, right?â
âHmmm.â
âI was too tired to take the babies to the pet shop on Saturday, so I washed them by myself just now. And who has heart to use the cold water on them?âÂ
By the babies, Jinki knows that it means their dogs Comme Des and Garçon. They're very handful indeed, but he didn't think their apartment system will finish the hot water supply just for them.
âDon't trick me. Our babies won't spend much water. Tell me what you have done.â
He stepped out the bathroom, towel covering only his lower part, makes Gwiboon writes a mental note to thank Minho later for egging him to always go to the gym at least twice a week, because he looks so damn hot even though Jinki's very upset now she needs to cover her crime.Â
âI wash the grey bed cover today.â
He rolled his eyes immediately when she revealed it. Gwiboon has a thing with the said bed cover. It was made of perfect mixture of cotton and silk which is Jinki himself has no doubt that it's indeed very comfortable. Because it's somehow too delicate, she never washed it in the washing machine let alone sent it to the laundry place in their building.
âBut you can do that on weekend, babe! When I don't even need shower! I just want to relax and it was fuckin' cold!â
He yelled in front of the wardrobe, somehow unable to keep nagging to her girlfriend.
âI'm sorry, Jinx, I just don't want to ruin it for letting it laid inside the laundry bag for too long.â
She slipped her arms around his waist and rests her cheek on his bare skin, tried to calm him down.
âTry not to do that on weekdays, uh?â No matter what, Jinki is always soften by Gwiboon's back hug, he moved his hand to caress her locked hands on his torso, âAnd let's just take the babies to the pet shop in the morning before we go to work and pick them up when we got home in the evening when we just too busy. I just can't stand the cold.â
âSpeaking of the cold,â Gwiboon roams her hands up and down, grazing his built up abs from behind, âLet me warm you up, babe.â
Gwiboon reached out the knot of the towel and let it drop to floor. Then she started peppering his shoulder with soft kisses, palms resting on his chest.
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Gwiboon just finished washing her hand when she heard something unusual. She looked at the side clock on the drawer and it shown already an hour pass midnight. Since a very young age she never believed in ghost or whatsoever but the thought of someone breaking into the house terrified her.
âBaby, wake up.â
âHmmm.â
âWake up, now. I heard something outside,â she shook her husband shoulderâs harder than before. Just arrived this morning from a business trip to Lyon, Jinki just groaned and pulled the blanket tighter.
âLet Comme Des handle it,â he mumbled without even opened his eyes.
By the time she heard the noise again, she lose her patient and yanked the blanket Jinki had been hogging.
Unwillingly, Jinki tried to collect his soul and supports himself with on the side while the other rubbing his eyes. After almost five minutes in silence, his ears perked up by the noises that Gwiboon been talked about.
He shot her a terrorized look which replied by her special I-told-you-so rolling eyes, âWhat now?â
âLetâs go check.â
Gwiboon clutched the end of his t-shirt while Jinki snatched the baseball bat behind the wardrobe.
âWhat if it ghost?â
Jinki stopped for a while, handâs hanging on the air while he turned to see his wife behind who now looks like ready to eat someone alive.
âAre you stupid or what?! You should be worried about someone trespassing your house and not some bullshit from horror movie!â
After one good slap on his back, they continue tip-toeing toward the kitchen where the noise is getting more obvious.
âJonghyun?â
When Jinki switched on the light, a seven years old boy looked surprise, quickly got up from the floor where he was sitting in front of the washing machine, a flashlight on his left hand.
âDad!â
âWhat are you doing here, Sweety?â Gwiboon walked closer to check what exactly happening while Jinki chuckled on the door frame, the bat is long forgotten next to the wall.
âI am.. uh.., Iâââ
âAre you washing something?â
The little kid just nods weakly, feet fidgeting nervously.
âAre you wetting your bed?â
He shook his head rapidly, slightly feel offended by the words.
âI am seven, Mom!â
âThen what are you washing? Why so late?â
âBecause.. Umm,â Jonghyunâs hesitating and looking at his Dad for mental support and when Jinki smile, the little kid turned into crimson red, âIamwashingmysweaterbecauseIwanttowearittomorrow!!!â
âWhat? Can you speak a little bit slow? I couldnât catch that.â
âI am washing my sweater, Mom.â
âYour sweater? Which one?â
âThe one that Dad got me for my birthday. The blue one.â
âYou mean the one that youâve been wearing the whole week?â
He nods again, then keeps his head low.
âI donât know that you love it so much, Buddy. We can go this weekend to buy another one with different color, but now, why donât we go back to sleep? Hmmm?â Jinki kneeled down to make their eyes on the same level.
âNo, Dad! I need to washed it now, I spilled my chocolate milk on it, and.. and Mom said that we have to wash the clothes as soon as possible if it happened before the stain stayed forever!â
âOh, baby.. No, donât worry, Iâm not gonna be angry to you just because you spilled the milk on your clothes. Now shall we go head to the bed?â
âBut.. but I want to wear it in the morning, Mom!â
âYou can wear the other sweater, Jong.. Why donât you wear the red one with hoodie?â
Jonghyunâs eyes look weary, he bite his lips before he speaks again, âYou donât understand, Mom! I need to wear this sweater!â
Jinki sense something off, he sits in front of Jonghyun, hands rest on his tiny shoulder, trying to lure the boy to stop the ruckus and let everyone back to sleep peacefully.
âHey, Buddy. Do you want to tell me why you need to wash your sweater at one in the morning?â
âI told you I spilled my milk on it, Dad!â
âAnd may I ask again why you need to wash it by yourself and not put it in the laundry bag like usual?â
âBecause I want to wear it again. I need to wear it again!â
âWhy you need to wear it again? Are you not allowed to wear another sweater?â
âItâs because.. Uh, because..â
âHmmm?â
âIf I tell you the reason, you promise not be angry?â
Gwiboonâs gaping in thought of her son is being bullied or caught in a trouble at the school.
âWhy would I be angry if my son being honest with me?â
âThereâs this girl in my class..â
Jinki turned his head to Gwiboon which the later cannot help holding her smile.
âShe said I looked good with the blue sweater and I should wear it everyday because I kind of cool in it.â
Gwiboon turns into jelly, her heart melts right away by the story revealed from his tiny mouth, âOh, Baby. Why donât you tell me earlier? I can help you clean it after dinner.â
âI am afraid you will be mad at me. I am sorry, Dad, Mom.â
âI will be mad if you hiding something from me again in the future, Kiddo. Now would you go back to sleep?â
âBut what about my sweater, Dad?â
âIâm sorry to tell you, but Iâm quite sure it would be still damp in the morning even though we already dried it, Buddy.â
The disappointment look on his face makes the smile on Gwiboonâs falter.
âDonât worry about that, I will help you to pick another sweater that would be as cool as the blue one. Do you know her favorite color?â
Jonghyunâs eyes got its sparks again and Jinki couldnât help beaming into the scene.
âMinjung said she loves blue! And white! Do I have white sweater, Mom?!â
Gwiboon is not sure but itâs almost two and sheâs done for little drama so she just nods, âI think I saw it somewhere when I folded your clothes but let me double check again in the morning, okay?â
âBut I have a white sweater, right, Mom?â
âI never doubt my memory, Honey! Now go back to your bed, will you?â
âYou are the best! I need to look cool because we will have crafting class today and Minjung and I will be in the same group!â
âIâll take note of that! Off to your bed, Champ!â
Jonghyunâs smile almost splits his face into two. He gave a kiss on Jinkiâs and Gwiboonâs check before dashed off to his room.
âWhat a nice episode for home-welcoming,â Jinki stretched his back while Gwiboon setting the timer on the washing machine.
âI never believed when people said you and Jonghyun is an exact copy for each other until today.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âNothing.â
She just smiled, closed the gap between them and reached Jinkiâs lips while her mind wander to ten years ago when she met him for the first time with his green t-shirt which he wore it a week straight after Gwiboon said he looks cute in it.
âI love you too much I will let you slide this time,â Jinki murmured on her lips while his hand secured on her waist.
âJonghyun already gave you his welcome present. Should I give you mine now?â
He kiss her once again before grabbed her ass and lifted her up, her legs locked around his hips and hands behind his neck, âI would be very glad to have that.â
Itâs 7 in the morning and no one should be still in their dream land or maybe catching some trains or buses. Or may be stopped by to a coffee shop to grab one cup before facing the upcoming hectic day. No one knows.
And the fashion department studio should be as empty as other classes in that campus. But particular girl already on her desk, back and forth pinning some fabric to a mannequin and sketching after lining up some material on the table. Though her focus is 100% on the half-naked statue next to her, she couldnât help catching someone intrudes her bubble by the corner of her feline eyes.
Heâs getting closer so she put more concentrate on cutting the piece of silk in her hand. And when he dragged a stool right across the desk, sheâs still acting that no one occupied the room besides her.
His presence is already intimidating. And to make it worst, the entire gaze he shot on her is full of affection instead of curiosity. Or anger. Or anxiety.
âI donât know youâre such an early bird.â
âYou know nothing about me,â she deadpanned while leaving her eyes to empty air between them.
âI know youâre pretty. Nice and smart. Passionate on your work, I can tell.â
She seemed not having any intention to look at the speaker by shifting to her side, putting different color of silks on the mannequinâs shoulder.
âOh, and you also got big guts. You know, kissing someone in daylight in a crowd you barely know is not easy.â
Her hand stopped right away in the air. By this time, the only choice left for her is to blast him her trademark annoyed glare.
âFinally. Is it that hard for you to look at me?â
It only took a pair of torn eyes to melt Gwiboonâs heart. His eyes were genuine, looked really sincere no matter how she tried to ignore that fact. Itâs not that she hates that face. How can you hate that puffy cheeks and full lips? Oh, dear God, those sinful lips. When her eyes darted to that pair of flesh, perfect pink tint crept on Gwiboonâs cheek out of nowhere. Whatâs the matter with you, Kim Gwiboon?
âIsnât your class started later? Itâs not even 9!â
âWow. And you know my time table too. Unbelievable.â
The shade over Gwiboonâs face is getting more obvious itâs not even pink anymore. And Jinki once again, mesmerized by the view of bashful girl in front of him. His grin splits his face into two.
âI happened to have a brother taking the same course with you, donât be so cocky youâll ruin my mood! I know most of his class started after 10.â
âSo, you stalked me through your brother? Hmmm. Interesting, really interesting.â
Gwiboon half slammed her scissors onto the table and Jinki flinched on his seat, âI got lots of stuff to do. If youâre here just to joke around and mock me then the doorâs over there.â
Jinki sighed rather loud, considering only two people in this huge studio, âLook. This is the first time we got to be alone after, you know, I kiââ
âI donât want to talk about that!â
âBut I want to. And Iâm going to talk about that again and again. We kissed before. Twice. Thatâs a lot for people who are â wait, whatâs your term, oh yeah â stranger. Â Are we not going to do something about that?â
âWhat do you want, really?â
She continues to pampering the mannequin, stitched it here and there just to keep her mind busy because sheâs about to collapse listening to that soft voice.
âI donât know. What do you want? I mean, I donât know what about you, but I like you. A lot.â
He talked to Gwiboonâs back but his words stabbed her, passed her spine and directly engulfed her heart in slow motion. The latter couldnât help but bit her lips for the sake not jumping in excitement like a sugar-rushed five year old kid.
âI like you too.â
Jinki is not expecting this one. Heâs so ready to hear Gwiboonâs getting enrage and ranting, but her simple reply got him stunned in a second.
âOh, wow. And now youâre muted. Whatever. Youâve got what you want, now can you not distracting me with your ridiculously warm crescent eyes?â
âDid I just say he got warm eyes?â
âDid you just tell me that my eyes are warm and distracting? Am I dreaming or what?â
Gwiboonâs sulking on her own, stomping her feet while moving and trying so hard avoiding Jinkiâs eyes. Most people would get boring easily if the opposite person they talked to is ignoring them. But Jinki, Jinkiâs definitely not most people. He enjoyed his time there looking at working hard Gwiboon. She loved whatever sheâs doing and that sends him lots of strange feeling. A good strange feeling.
He pulled out the little sketch book he always had on his pocket, snatching a pencil from Gwiboonâs desk and starts copying her side view on it. Every single hair strands, neckline, her jaw, all are drawn perfectly in such limited time. While he enjoying the sight before him to complete his quick doodles, his phoneâs buzzing madly, ruining the tranquil air wrapped them.
âYes, Jinkiâs speaking! Oh, Mr. Kim! What can I help this time?â
Gwiboon tried so hard not to eavesdropping but the struggle is real when the only sounds ringing in the room is his clear voice.
âReally? Thatâs great! Really really great! Thanks for calling me in advance! Iâm already at the university donât worry, Iâm heading to your office now.â
Heâll be gone soon. Why does this feel not right?
âNo, itâs okay. Iâll see you in a moment. Thank you very much once again!â
When the conversation seemed finished, Gwiboon can hear Jinkiâs huffing to the atmosphere and she sense disappointment out of him. Through the small mirror steady on her desk, she can see he shuffled on his seat and ready to leave.
âGwiboon.â
âHmm.â
âI need to go right now. But Iâll definitely back aftââ â
âThis design needs to be delivered to the board at lunch.â
âWhatever. Iâll see you later! Good luck with the mannequin! I love the lace color.â
âItâs not lace. Itâs embroidery.â
But Jinkiâs already dashed outside the room when Gwiboon finished her words. And the room feels emptier than ever when not even his trace of perfume stayed there. She shrugged her shoulder and moved to the end of her desk to measure some ribbon. Thatâs about the time she found a paper alone near the corner.
âYou know what this girl needs? A smile on her face. Because the Kim Gwiboon I know is way much prettier when she smiles. Mind to let me know how the design goes? :)â
Under her flawless portrait on the paper, Jinki wrote his number. Seeing that, her soul had been taken away in between excitement and sorrow.
***
âThey love it! Two of them are presented earlier on the next board meeting and they assigned me to fill the first walk and also the last.â
âWho is this?â
âYou said you want to know how the design goes!â
He put down the cigarette and kept it back inside its box while his face turned into a blossoming rose, âGwiboon?â
âWho do you expect?!â
âI just surprised, I thought you wonât calling me.â
âMe too.â
Long pause fill up the awkwardness between them, until Jinki tried to break it, âSo it means youâll stay in the studio until midnight again?â
âGuess so. I can only go to the studio on Wednesday and Friday. And Saturday morning. But lots of detail needs to be finished.â
âWhy donât you go there every day? Working two or three hours after the class wonât hold you to go back early, well, at least not until midnight,â Jinki being his original himself, trying to make everything more bearable with a better schedule.
âThe other day I got a bis â never mind.â
âWhat?â
âItâs not only me on the studio! I donât want people take a look at my design! Itâs not finished yet! It looks like people caught me naked.â
âIâve visited you yesterday, so that meant I saw you naked?â
âYou pervert head hog!â
Long haul of laughter spread through the line, not only to Gwiboonâs ear, but also to her heart. It feels great. It feels like home.
âYou are the one who said that. I just emphasize the possibility. No, I just made a confirmation. Not my fault.â
âCut it off.â
âAs you wish.â
âWhat are you doing?â
âMe? Smoking.â
âAnd cut that off too! Itâs bad for you!â
âIâm not even had a chance to light it up! Your call was kind of interrupting.â
âThatâs good. Iâll make sure to call you every two or three days to check on you. Just so you know, the nicotine stays in your lips.â
âHow do you know? Youâre not even smoking!â
âI can taste it the other time.â
Warmth fills up his hollow chest. He spent the entire week to work on his final project and help Taemin writing some lyrics to his performance. To sum it up, heâs exhausted as hell. But listening to the words leaving Gwiboonâs lips, he felt like he could climb another mountain right now.
âOh are you sure? Want to double check it again?â
Jinki is not even next to her, but still, she got blushed all over her cheeks, âYou and your pervert brain can spend entire years in hell!â
He cracks right away, âIâll stop by every Wednesday and Friday then.â
âNah, you got your own thing to finish. Iâll be fine.â
âYeah, youâll be fine and I wonât. Youâll never know how it feels to be a man coming home before dinner and knowing the woman he cares about still out there doing things for a living.â
Her throat strangled by invisible rope. Silence cut everything Gwiboonâs trying to say.
âSo yeah, see you next Friday?â
âOh,â she finally got her mind back in the system, âWell, whatever. Just donât back up right away after you found it boring. I wonât entertain you at all, busy stuff.â
âHow can I get bored with you, seriously?â
And since that weekend, after his studioâs finished, he brought his laptop and sketch book, dragged his feet to the farthest building at the university. He just sat there and continued clicking here and there, sometimes peeking over Gwiboon and just looking at her when his eyes got tired staring at the screen nonstop.
Sometimes Gwiboon already waiting with a packed dinner for him. Sometimes Jinki pushed the studioâs door a little bit late, with her favorite coffee set in hand.
Sometimes Jinki is too lazy to make a presentation layout and just enjoying Gwiboonâs side view. Sometimes Gwiboon not touching her works at all and just peeking on his screen or capturing his serious face with her Polaroid.
***
And with that, people start talking again. They talk when Gwiboon stopped by to architectâs department studio design both hand carried packed lunch. When she dropped one on Jinkiâs desk and the other to his brotherâs. They talk when Jinkiâs board shoulders appeared so often in the fashion design department. When he casually ruffled Gwiboonâs hair after the class and they went together to Jinkiâs basement.
Nobody needs another radio announcement or neon box advertising to notice they are seeing each other. Minho and Taemin donât even bother to confirm, as well. But they are not Jonghyun.
âYou doing well, lately?â
âHmmm.â
Itâs dinner time in their house and the second week of the month, Gwiboonâs home and Jonghyun found his chance to ask her about all those rumor he had been buzzed off.
âYour project is okay?â
âItâs great,â she shoved another pile of beef salad in her mouth, eyes keep staring to her phone.
âIâve been heard some gossips.â
âItâs gossip. You know you shouldnât listen to that crap.â
âWell, I wonât listen if thatâs not about you.â
âItâs always about me, huh?â she put down her phone, eyes locked with her brother, âWhich one do you trust? Those stupid people or me?â
âI trust my friends Gwiboon.â
âSo you donât believe me because I am apparently not one of your friend?â
âJinki is my friend.â
âSo? Did he tell you something?â
âHe didnât. Thatâs why I asked you.â
âYour logic is not pretty good sometimes.â
âIt is pretty good when half of your classmate said that your sister and your friend making out here and there around the campus.â
She shot her head up and what she found makes her writhing silently. Jonghyunâs not angry. Jonghyun looks care.
âAre you going out with him?â
âSometimes.â
âAre you dating him?â
âI donât know.â
âThatâs not the answer I want to hear, Gwiboon.â
âI really donât know, Jong! We donât define what is this happened between me and your friend!â Gwiboon finds it hard to just say Jinkiâs name like that, âNot everyone smart enough or brave enough to call it something, you know!â
Sheâs tossing the fork on her hand to the plate, appetite gone in flash. Jonghyun didnât tilt his head a bit, making Gwiboon more uncomfortable with the atmosphere.
âThis is my friend, Gwiboon. You donât just like people and hanging out with them without checking them whether youâre on the same page and then after you got bored you just left! Iâve told you since the beginning. Jinkiâs my friend! Heâs a nice guy!â
âAnd you think I donât deserve nice guy? You think the best choice that I could have is random guy who treat me like a whore or someone whoâs sexist enough to go to jail?! Am I that low in your eyes, Jong?â
When Jonghyun saw her all torn and sincere, he mentally burns himself in hell, âItâs not like that, Gwiboon.â
âItâs always been like that! Being judgmental and hating every single thing Iâve done! I donât know where exactly my fault is. And I canât even like a guy whose kind enough to bring me a cup of coffee in the middle of night without asking anything after that?â
âKim Gwiboon, listen to me.â
âNo, you listen to me, brother of mine. I am as afraid as you of losing him if something unwanted happened in the future between me and him. If you care enough all this time, I am not as cold as bitch that you pictured of me in your head. I have no one to run whenever all those gibberish that you called gossip is way too far and ridiculously make no sense to handle. But heâs there. Suddenly heâs there, doesnât even care about all those craps and still give me the perfect genuine smile even when my own brother doubts me.â
âGwiboon, itâs noââ
âItâs not like that? Is that what you want to say?â
âI told you to listen to me!â this time Jonghyun started to lose his temper and raised his voice, shut Gwiboon down right away, âJinki is my friend. You know that. He is a person that I care a lot, as much as I care about you.â
Gwiboon looks sheâs not ready with everything that he had in mind.
âYes, Kim Gwiboon. All this feud and everything we had doesnât stop me to care of you. Never in a million way, and because of that reason alone, have I known that this time is different than before. Different than all those bastard trying to hook up with you. And thatâs the reason why I have no heart to let you ruin yourself.â
âI donât see your point.â
âJinki is going to graduate soon. And who the hell knows what would he did after that, he might go to the end of the world to do another volunteer work or being busy in his new office. Heâs going to leave eventually. And I donât want you to feel to be left behind again. Not after what I did to you.â
So Jonghyun has no idea about me leaving the university?
Gwiboon bite her lips, contemplating whether he should tell Jonghyun the truth or not.
âJong,â the latter is surprised, itâs been so long since Gwiboon called him that way, âI donât care he might leave next month, or next year, or maybe tomorrow. At this point I donât even care if whatâs going on between me and him right now is real. This is new for me, as you said before, yes, I admit that this is different than before.â
âGwiboon, how many times should I tell you, I donât care about you might hurt him, itâs the opposite that I am worried now. The fact that he might hurt you when he left.â
âIf that what is your concern, Iâll make sure Iâm the one who left him and not the other way.â
âKim Gwiboon, this is not a game.â
No, itâs not, Jong. I am the one whoâs going to leave him and might break his heart. I am the criminal.
âYou know I donât play game. Thank you for your concern, but I think Iâm old enough to play safe and handle my feeling.â
Gwiboon wiped her mouth quickly and retreated to her room before Jonghyun stopped her for another argument. Before her tears spilled out the brim of her eyes.
Iâm sorry, Jong. I didnât mean to make you lose him when I did.
***
âCan you move a little bit?â
Jinki shifted closer to Gwiboon instead further away, forcing the latter gritted her teeth. He broke into huge laughter before peck her cheek and gave her the space she needed.
âWhat the heck?â
âIâm sorry, but your upset expression is my new Achilles heels now. I just canât help myself about that.â
âYou need to do something about that. I am begging you. Before all these girls broke into my locker and burn everything inside, ruined the whole project that Iâm working on.â
âAnd you need to stop imagining something. Itâs not gonna happened and itâs not healthy.â
She cocked her head to the side, Jinki grins like a five year old with sugar rush.
âLet me tell you something. Iâve been received dead animals on my studioâs desk. I got calls from unknown number threating to kill me every once in a week because apparently I am a bitch and they are fucking coward without balls and guts. But now, I have some important business to take care before the beginning of the next month. So. Can you not?â
âNot what?â
âNot doing exactly what could wake up their inner hyena to do all those stupid stuffs I just mentioned!â
âLike this?â
He closed the distance once again and rested his lips on her cupid bow ones, pushed back every argument hanging on the tip of her tongue.
âLove birds!! Get a room!!â
They parted and turned to the source of annoying voice just to fins Taemin beaming into wide smirk across the hall.
âMind your own business, kiddo!â
Jinki shouted to his brother who rolled his eyes before he continued walking to the direction of the library.
âI am so done with you!â
âReally? That fast?â
He darted his eyes to down south and Gwiboonâs cheeks cannot hide the blushed anymore.
âCreepy old pervert! Iâm leaving!â
Jinki cracks on the spot but not losing his chance to grab her wrist, stopping her for going somewhere else.
âCan you stay for another 15 minutes?â
âI have an appointment with my supplier and you said you need to fix the structure calculation before this weekend. And also..â
âAlso?â
She sighs while slipped the straps of the bag on her shoulder, âJonghyun might be here anytime. Just like Taemin.â
âSo what?â
âHe is your best friend!â
âAnd heâs your brother.â
âWho doesnât even care that Iâm exist.â
âKim Gwiboon.â
âLee Jinki.â
âAre you keep it secret from Jonghyun?â
âNo, he already knew.â
âSo?â
âI just donât want to make everything more complicated. And awkward. Iâm doing you a favor here.â
âGwiboon, I donât need your help. Iâm okay.â
âBut Iâm not.â
Both of them are sinking into silence. And without asking, Gwiboon understands how disappointed Jinki at this second.
âJinki, all my life has been a cold war. I know this is hard and too much to ask, but I hope you have a big heart on it. For once in my life, I want to forget everything and believe only on the reality that I want to acknowledge.â
âI understand. But if you just want to care about what you believe, why you bother to care about otherâs opinion?â
âBecause I care about you.â
He couldnât believe what he just heard. When he shot his head up, the girl in front of him looks so vulnerable.
âIâll see you on Friday. Good luck with the structure stuff.â
And she just walked away, not giving him a chance to hug her or even bid goodbye.
***
Two people lying on a dark indigo fluffy carpet while their head on the bed, or more like thick mattress, with their mind wander in their own track. Above them, a simple handmade pendant lamp is hanging on the open wooden structure ceiling. Sunâs seeping through the small window, making a great shadow on the wall beside which occupied by tall wooden cabinet where books and zombies figurines march neatly. Â
What makes Gwiboon loves to spend her time here is not only because of the slanted eyes boy is laying next to her, busy reading a quite thick book. The atmosphere inside this sanctuary soothing her mind, high ceiling released her stressed feeling inside her chest.
âYou should put something green on that cabinet.â
âHmmm.â
âSmall succulent in colorful pot wonât hurt.â
âI have no time taking care of any plant.â
âCactus only need water every one or two weeks, idiot.â
When her elbows stick onto his ribs, he could only flinch, but not planning to stop reading or whatsoever.
âTell me three things I donât know about you.â
This time, she got his attention. He put down the book on his stomach and turned his head to his right just to find Gwiboon staring right to the ceiling, fingers intertwined resting on her chest.
He chuckled then, discarded the book and rolled himself, supporting his head with one arm, the free one decided to play with Giwboonâs fringe, âWhat kind of thing?â
âAnything. Something secret. Something special that only you and your family know. Or even something you kept for yourself.â
âHmmm. Letâs see,â Gwiboon leaned to her side so sheâs currently facing Jinki, tint pink smudged on her cheek, âBut in exchange you need to tell me three things about you.â
âOkay.â
âPromise?â
She smirked then lifted her head a bit so her pouty lips can land perfectly on Jinkiâs full ones, âPromise.â
As if hypnotized by her action, he opened his secret drawer right away, âIâve dyed my hair pink.â
For Gwiboon, even though Jinkiâs well known in their circle, she still presume the latter is someone with reserve personality and far for her wild imagination.
âYou would never pull it off. No way.â
âYes way. But it only last for maybe around four months? Or five? I donât remember,â he picked his phone and roamed to his gallery, âItâs about the same time when Taemin decided to turn his hair purple.â
âI bet you looked so sexy back then,â Gwiboon stretched her hand to brush Jinkiâs hair which then the latter stopped her hand with his mischievous grin.
âNothing beat you when it comes to being sexy.â
She rolled her eyes but failed to hide her blush, âStop being cheesy! Now facts number two!â
Jinki could only laugh and messed up her front bangs again, a new habit he developed lately whenever the latter around, âWhen I was in Brazil, I wasnât exactly live there for three months.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âI stayed in Argentina for a month and two other weeks in Chile.â
âWow.â
âYou do fascinated by that?â
âNo, not even slightly. But the fact all of your fans out there assumed youâre volunteering slash surviving in the heart of Amazon forest for three whole months is indeed really fascinating.â
âWhich fans? Iâm not even famous in my department.â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
âIâm actually at the point feeling confused whether you are too naĂŻve or too cocky. Then can you explain why people were extremely happy when the rumor about you ditched me broke out?â
Gwiboonâs heart almost dropped to the ground when Jinkiâs eyes torn a bit before kissed her nose in flash, âIâm sorry.â
âDonât be. Itâs their right to hate me. I am not that kind either to them,â she tried so hard to shrug his concern, âNow the last one.â
âThis is embarrassing.â
âAs long as itâs not you telling youâve been stay behind the bars, Iâm okay with that!â
âSorry to disappoint you, but I am not that wild. Itâs happened when Iâm on 5th grade. I once cried when I got 2nd place in the class.â
And when the girl next to him burst into one massive laugh, he could only blast sheepish smile as his cheeks felt a lot warmer than it supposed to be.
âNowâs your turn.â
âLee Jinki, the best model student ever, everyone!â
âEnough with me,â Jinkiâs sulking and leaned back again to the carpet, hands folded in front of him like a five year old, âI told you thatâs embarrassing. Taemin has been mocking me my whole life. You better not join force with him.â
âBut that is so cute. I can imagine you, cheeks puffing, eyes almost gone, bawling secretly on your bed, face drenched with tears.â
âI wish I hadnât told you that!â
âThat means youâre human, baby,â she placed both her hands to his cheeks and turned his face to make those eyes level with hers, âI was a nerd, too. I have no friend besides Jonghyun and my books until middle school.â
âThereâs no such thing in the world.â
âYou can check it out. Ask Jonghyun. But probably he would say nothing and telling you that youâre wasting your time.â
âLetâs say itâs true, what else?â
âIâm closer to my grandmother than to my parents,â her throat suddenly felt a lot drier.
âI guess that happened to Jonghyun, too.â
âHow do you know that?â
Jinkiâs smile looks so sincere plastered on his glowing face, âBoth of you are alike more than you realize. And choosing to stay in the dorm rather in your own house? That should at least speak something.â
âSeriously, you donât stalk him behind my back, do you?â
âDonât be jealous, baby,â he winked and got his forehead flicked by Gwiboon, âIs your life that boring? I need to hear something ridiculous.â
âIâm not a superstar like you. My life is full of hate and judgment.â
âNot stupid things like wet your pants? Stealing your parentâs money to buy new Barbie? Or got into fight with some other bitches?â
âIâm leaving soon, Jinki. And thereâs no way whatever happened between us gonna last.â
Those words are already hanging at the tip of her tongue. However, when sheâs looking at Jinki, those warm coffee color orbs shut her down, threaten her with the most horrible moment when finally their times together ruined.
âFine. But promise me you wonât laugh at me?â
This time, Jinkiâs the one who pecked her lips, âPromise.â
âI took my dog as my high school prom date.â
âWell, the story about an ugly duckling turned into swan is not a joke.â
She slapped his arm hard, âYou promise not to laugh!â
âAm I looked like Iâm laughing now?!â Gwiboon is pouting but sheâs struggling not to laugh at the moment, âIs there no one to ask back then?â
âMinho and I broke up two weeks before prom. He got a new girl and I had no one. So I made a tuxedo for my dog and bring him to the party.â
âAnd thatâs what we called secret. I always thought you are this popular chick everybody adores since you were young.â
âI told you I was a nerd, an outcast who suddenly decided to become a spoiler brat and selfish bitch. I think Minho is the only friend I keep until now.â
âYou can keep me, though.â
âHow can I keep everyoneâs favorite just for myself?â Gwiboon turns her head ahead, staring back to the ceiling, âIâm done being selfish. I donât think I can do that.â
âBeing selfish is okay sometimes. You said weâre human, right?â
She closed her eyes when she caught by the corner of her eyes, Jinki fixed his eyes on her, âWe are like a group of dysfunctional people,â she blurted out once heâs back to Jinki.
âI donât think so,â he played with her hair again, leaned a bit and tuck it behind her ear and making Gwiboonâs almost choked with his sweet scent in such distance, âIâm about to finish my final project then started my master degree soon. And just so you know, this ding dong here is working rather fine lately.â
Jinki looked down and bashfully grinned making Gwiboon slapped him once again, âItâs not what I mean, pervert!!â
Itâs hard not to be flustered by such a comment. Especially when she realized her heart beat faster whenever Jinki made that face, the ridiculously adorable dork, literally Jinkiâs being himself.
âMost people get to know each other first. Then when they feel like it, they kissed. And probably make out. But weâre having it backwards. We kissed. Some unintentionally, some planned, well, we kiss a lot just to sum up. Then later on, here we are, peeling out ourselves layer by layer.â
âWell, we arenât common people at the first place, just in case you forgot.â
She really could just sigh, âWhat are we, really?â
Jinki shifted uncomfortable before convinced himself this is what both of them wanted at this moment, âTwo people enjoying each other presence and silently hoping time would just stop like this.â
Gwiboon sighed, maybe too loud, making Jinki frowns again, mind battling whether he said the wrong thing or not.
âYouâre right. Maybe I just want to stay like this forever.â
âStaring at the ceiling?â
âOf course not, stupid,â She turned and caressed his cheek in a slow motion, âFeeling you breathing next to me just to make sure I am not alone.â
His hand wrapped hers and dragged it right onto his chest, âYou will never be alone again as long as you let me be around you.â
Two or three months ago, Gwiboon might be bet all of her possession to hear Jinki said such things like this. But when heâs finally here, not only looking to her direction, but also give her the best smile she ever seen and hold her hand so tight, she actually wanted to mop her heart and curse the universe for playing with her feeling and time.
Mostly to the time for being such a tease.
âPromises are made to be broken.â
âWanna bet?â
Before Gwiboon could retail some words in her mind, Jinkiâs lips already pressed to hers. Slow and careful, delicate like a ballerina, theyâre dancing with her soft flesh, step by step tickling her heart. She gave up under his touch and returned the favor, kissing him back. This time inside her head, fireworks do appear. But they explode together with dynamite, one to another.
They parted away when both of them lack of air, but apparently Jinki doesnât give her time to rest her heart by sneaking his hand under her back, scooping her a little so their chests pressed tighter than before and his full lips back to claim her pouty ones.
âJinx, what if this is just a dream?â
âThen I refused to wake up.â
âI mean it. What if, suddenly we were apart?â
âIâve been there and it tortures every possible part of me. I wonât cross that path again, Gwiboon.â
âThatâs not answering my question.â
âAre you seeing another man right now?â
âWhat? No!â
âYour parents set you into some arranged marriage?â
âOf course not!â
âAre you dying?â
âJinki, you are nuts! Iâm not sick!â
âThen everything can wait. But not this.â
His face is completely hovering hers now. And Gwiboon barely sane to compose anything in her mind.
***
The pain stings her head disturbed her sleep, force her to flex opened the feline eyes and move her damned limb. However, the view that greets her is way far from familiar. Outlining the sun ray seeped into the cold room with her barely functional eyes, she realized sheâs not in her dorm. Or in her home.
ââŠâ
The lump covered by the grey blanket on her left moving up and down in a sluggishly pace. She unwrapped herself extra carefully not to make sound more than 10 decibel. But the room is too poor lit when she left the mattress to find her blouse. So after 10 minutes of groping on the dark, she gave up and head to the wardrobe â the only thing she remembered whereâs it located â and grabbed pair of boxer and random t-shirt.
Thank God her jeans are still visible enough to be discovered. Tiptoeing, she snatched her shoes, phone, and purse in one go before reaching the door, slowly pulled it and slipped herself in less than 30 cm opening, closed it really slowly in an attempt to not produce any noise that might wake up the owner of the house.
âGood morning, Princess,â her heart dropped to the ground and Taemin just raised his mug to salute her, successfully making her failed miserably to avoid the walk of shame parade, âGoing somewhere?â
âCan you lower your voice?â
âWhy do I need to tone down my voice in my own house? Do I look like a thief?â
âSsstt! You might wake up everyone, you idiot!â
âThe only one that hasnât woken up is my brother behind that door. I already feed Eve and my mom already went to the market and back.â
âYour Momâs home?!â
âWhy wouldnât she?â he laughs since he knew why she screamed and more because Gwiboonâs terrorized face is too funny, triggers him to mess with her even further, âI wonder what happened last night that makes both of you woke up so late. My brother didnât throw a party inside his room, did he?â
âLee Taemin..â
âMaybe horse riding? You know when someone sit on the top and move up and down, back and forth⊠â
Her face is now more crimson than ripe tomato.
ââŠon the track. But we donât have horse so itâs impossible. Or midnight work out? Yeah, I guess so, my brother works out like crazy lately.â
The smile plastered on his face knocked her down without Taemin even tried so hard.
âCan you be adult for once and stop shouting?â
âIs this what you called shouting?â
âCut it off before your Mom heard anything!â
âSheâs busy cooking, she wonât hear shit even youâre moaning.â
He sent her a wink, built a nausea feeling on her tummy, âThanks for the notes! Iâm leaving!â
âPlease, you know that the kitchen in our house is next to the front door right?â
Gwiboon stopped right away after only three steps.
âSo when youâre on your way, donât forget to say hi to my Mom.â
âFuck.â
He finished his coffee and chuckles at her, âWhy donât you join us for brunch?â
What kind of idea is that? Sharing the dining table on Saturday morning with someoneâs Mom that has no idea what happened behind her sonâs door last night? And without taking shower? Make up?! Oh, hell no!
âNo oneâs care you already take a shower or not, this is Saturday morning, for Godâs sake. But if you refuse to walk with me to the dining table, you can just go back to my brotherâs room,â now he leaned on the wall, arms folded with his empty mug hangs at his finger, âAnd wait until my Mom kick that door to ask him for brunch and maybe you as well since youâre inside. How about that?â
âThereâs no way your mother found me inside your brotherâs room!â
âWhy not? She knows youâre here anyway.â
âWhat?!â
âTaemin! Wake your brother and his girlfriend up! Get in here three of you before this chicken get cold! itâs not my style to serve frozen food to a guest in my house!â
Gwiboon looks like a stray puppy who waits for her death sentence when Taemin raised his brows as if heâs saying âI told youâ.
âWhat should I do?!â
âGo back to that filthy room, drag my brotherâs ass out, and have a really nice brunch with us. As easy as that. BesidesâŠâ
âBesides what?â
âBesides, my brother wouldnât be pleased knowing you wandering around the city.. you know.., senza underwear.â
She covered her chest with her purse in instant and ran to the door at the end of hallway while cursing inside her head.
âIâll see you both soon!â
She slammed the door behind her doesnât even care whether itâs polite enough to do in otherâs property.
âWhy so loud in the morning?â lazy voice came from the far right of the room, Jinki sat on the mattress without anything covering his torso, bed hair all jolted here and there, try to collect all his soul, eyes squinted to Gwiboonâs direction, âIs that my t-shirt?â
***
Part 7.
HI PEOPLE I AM BACK! I am sorry for neglecting this series for a really really really long time Godâs know how. This is unedited, so if there are so many mistake, I apologize. The grad school is taking all my energy. Iâm supposed to work for museum research now but I just too tired to think about building design analysis. How are you peeps?! Any comment any question about this, just let me know! Hopefully, Iâm going to be more often to update! Lots of love from Italy! Enjoy! XOXO
Or it's gonna go down in flames
You can tell me when it's over
If the high was worth the pain
'Cause we're young and we're reckless
We'll take this way too far
It'll leave you breathless
Or with a nasty scar
Got a long list of ex-lovers
They'll tell you I'm insane (Insane)
But I've got a blank space baby
And I'll write your name
***
âOkay, okay. Youâre taking only the vintage ones. I got it.â
âSure you donât want me to send you the list and the detail? Donât you think picture is not enough?â
Who the heck he thinks he is lecturing me about my purchasing ability?
She wanted to argue, but just too exhausted. After staying at the kitchen school almost at least 20 hours per day and the foreseen torture of dessert assignment in less than five days, she chose to zip her mouth. Having perfectionist blood all over her veins already pushed her to the edge of her limit. With hand nearly burnt thrice if once is not enough, trying to defend herself on the matters she didnât even care is just futile.
âIâm not seven anymore.â
And Jonghyun missed how awfully she groaned, âThis one is very rare, Boonie! If you took the wrong viââ
âThat was one time! And for your information, it was the stupid shopkeeperâs fault! Not mine! You should thank me for doing some effort coming back to that creepy store to exchange it! Dear God, I told you to do anything you want but that doesnât include trapping me into slavery!â
So snapped she is finally, still heâs busy keeping the phone steady in between his cheek and shoulder while rummaging his desk to find some documents he needs the next following morning, he didnât catch that sheâs actually way far from joking.
âWhatever. Just double check it, will you?â
âItâs not even a year, for Godâs sake! Have you forgot that your sister is the most meticulous person youâve ever know?â
âI second that. But still, fabric and groceries are different from records, Kim Gwiboon. Youâre not used to yet in this field. This needs basic training and further market research.â
âWow. I could just snuggle my pillows, switched off my phone, and just shut the world around me. But yet, but yet, Iâm here outside putting some decent clothes and make up about to get your dumb vinyl. Should I just burn everything for your lack of gratitude?â
âWhen I came to you next month, and I didnât see any of those treasures, I wouldnât hesitate to skin you alive. You know that?â
âPathetic. Iâm worth less than vinyl. Now I get it when people said you really are actually alone in this world.â
âI will just ignore the fact that right now youâre sulking and again, resent everything on me. Anyhoops. Are you finally admitting that youâre lonely?â
Sip Coffee House is awfully crowded this noon. Though, no one minds her. Not even took a glance. Not even her favorite barista whoâs currently serving coffees with four hands. Across the table on her left, a coupleâs sharing a piece of cake, all gleeful and making her eyes all sore and stung. Theyâre all in their own bubble, have no single thought to check their surrounding where Gwiboon is fuming with envy looking at the scene. Â
âLonely, huh? So what if I am? Living miles away from my family and friends, I bet the happiest person on earth would still be lonely at some point.â
âYou want to go back? My door is always open, I told you. They canât touch you there. Well, I wonât allow them, at least.â
She knows she can do that. The plane ticket is only one click away. A brother to pick her up at the airport is only one call way. Sheâs not ready to what would greet her back home. Memory or reality, neither of both is appealing enough.
âTrue. But I can ask you or Minho come visit me whenever I want. Why bother spend hours on the plane if both of you can jump to the next flight anytime?â
âStill stubborn arenât you?â Jonghyun dropped himself to the bed, doesnât even bother to change into more comfortable clothes, âWell, there are some people who cannot just bolt to Chicago and knock on your door.â
âWho? These people called Mom and Dad who exiled me here? Donât joke around. You think I still want to see them? I swear to God, I would just find a job here and never coming home. Iâd probably work double to get some money so I can pay them back for all the tuition and shit I didnât ask, but at this point I donât really care.â
âHoney, you know Iâm not talking about them.â
Jonghyun left the house and moved to a small studio apartment near the consultant he works a week after Gwiboonâs plane took off to OâHare Airports. He made up his mind after Gwiboon told him to do anything to catch his dream, whatever he felt right, because the world would against them anyway. He had a huge fight with their Dad, exploded on the old man on how he forced his obsession on his kids. The second his father mentioned about whether he should disown him, Jonghyun laughed so hard. He was done for the night. Done for everything.
He took a break from the university since he promised he wonât use any penny from their parents and hoping to go back soon after gaining some money from the works. And here heâs now. Almost ten months of sleepless nights, finally doing what he always wanted to do. Music. His jazz club is 65% on progress, developed from his own design, his own hands. Never once he called their Dad again. Only occasionally, he called their Mom to make sure sheâs healthy and let her know heâs happy with his choice.
Therefore, he didnât lie when he said heâs not talking about them to Gwiboon.
âThen who?â Gwiboon chuckles bitterly, seemed finally aware on what heâs been hinting since a while ago, âI donât recall I have anyone to care about besides both of you.â
âPeople love you more than you know, Kim Gwiboon.â
âI always know that you and Minho love me. Thatâs enough to keep me on the ground here.â
âYou are very persistent, arenât you?â
âLetâs say my brother taught me well.â
This time is Jonghyunâs turn to chuckle, âAlright then. Itâs almost two in the morning here. Iâll call you again later. Text me if youâre not sure with the genre.â
âRight, right. Canât wait to see you! You have no idea how I miss you.â
âMe too. Bye, Boonie!â
The phone call ends, leaving her once again with the vacant atmosphere. The coffee shopâs getting busier, some customers come and go, couples, group of friends, shuffled through the space around her since this morning, but nothing really stopped. Oh, how she desperately wished someone would stop and notice her, just like she got used to, center of attention, topic of casual discussion. She rested her back to the black chair sheâs on, contemplating whether she should jump to the bus that will take her to the record store or ditch Jonghyun and wandering around Millennium Park.
Itâs her day off of the school, after two intense assessment prep weeks, finally she had time to taste some fresh air.
People learn, Kim Gwiboon. This time, you learned about yourself. Love is not something you need to be afraid of. Itâs something you need to embrace. It takes time to nurture, but when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful thing youâve ever seen. Maybe this is not the time yet for yours. Donât worry, though, soon youâll get your turn.
Minhoâs voiceâs echoing inside her head. Her mind flies to the night she called him miserably crying her lungs out, frantically questioning why the whole universe conspired against her. After everything, she never believed anyone would stay for her. Not her grandmother, not Jonghyun, not even Minho. High school sweetheart is not always forever, and Minho proved it right, he broke up with her for another girl.
But Jinki burned everything down just by being Jinki. He didnât leave, she did.
Gwiboonâs still in a constant combat with her feeling. Three months, six months, seven, eight, she started to forget how to count. Even in this complete foreign place, her mind still pondering howâs Jinki coping up with the whole commotion she created behind. She wished he would be well, happy and living his life to the fullest just like before their utterly unexpected collision. Eventually, Jinki would move on, and sheâs completely aware of this kind of future waiting for her. Deep down however, she selfishly begged to the sky that at least Jinki had ten percent of her pain, for the reality of being forgotten, she still refused to accept that.Â
One day after she messed her first restaurant management assignment, she rang Minho, it was 4 AM in the morning in Seoul, he cursed inaudible while tried to compose himself and collect his sanity to sit down by the edge of his bed. In her anxiety, she told him she would just call Taemin and kept everything in secret between them, she just wanted to know whether Jinki eat or not. And thatâs it.
Her hope was crushed immediately when Minho lazily said the boy just moved to Japan one month prior because he got exchange scholarship and continue his study there with extra credit and double degree. Once again, Gwiboon convinced, karma took tolls on her sooner than she predicted.
She looked down to her feet which crossed by her ankles. The laces on her left foot escaped from the loose knot.
âYou should stop wearing heels.â
âWhy?â
âBecause youâll look almost as tall as me. And I prefer someone smaller so I can keep them inside my pocket.â
âYou happy now? I stop wearing heels, you stupid overly grinning sunshine.â
She muttered to herself. Some of her classmates are beautiful but they preferred to keep the aesthetic on the plates instead their appearance. No one would tell her how glowing her skin is or notice her shoes are limited edition, buried all her desire to be the usual charming Gwiboon. Studying in the class where everyone wears the particular uniform and required to stand at least twelve hours per day pushed all her heels back to the end of wardrobe.
The Old Skool Vans on her feet started to get thinner on the soles due to the excessive use.
âHere, try this one.â
âI liked the checkered one better. Why this one?â
âBecause I have the exact same pair at home.â
âYou mean to have what they called couple shoes?â
âIf you wanted to put it that way, I donât mind. The term of couple shoes doesnât seem hurt.â
She canât help but sighing so hard, trying to shed the weight on her shoulder. The ghoul inside her chest started to eat her from the inside with the trace of the unforgotten past.
âHuh. Couple shoes my ass.â
Gwiboon bended her exhausted body to the front sluggishly, trying to redo the knot. Then again, before she could ever pass the middle of her calves, stubby fingers out reached it first. Back to centuries ago, this might be sweet. Or even romantic. But in this millennial era, itâs safe to say that itâs quite creepy.
She tried to warn the possible stalker who kneels down in front of her, but he doesnât seemed care. The fact that she cannot catch the face of the mysterious man is not helping the feeling being trapped crept up her limb.
âExcuse me, what the heck are you doing there?â
Year ago she might just lift her foot quickly to knock the face of this stranger immediately, but she learnt to be less violent lately. She stood up to shoo him away. Shamelessly, the man even finished the touch by dusting the front side of the shoes.
âGlad to see youâre keeping the shoes, Kim Gwiboon.â
Stunned, she almost forgot how to breathe, itâs so hard to restrain herself from blinking, from giving a chance to her mind for once again, tricking her into some delusional vision.
Those beautiful crescent eyes are still the same. The pink chapped plump lips are still the same. The sunshine-a-like smile, the angelic face, the soft bangs fell on his forehead, they are still the same. He swiped back his slightly choppy hair now and fixed his trademark messenger bag â the one that Gwiboon successfully rescued it before he was ridiculously about to throw that away just because it smelled so unpleasantly â back on his shoulder.
âArenât you going to hug me?â
Instead, Gwiboon stepped back listen to his words. Unfortunately, her calves pushed back her stool before she dropped herself down, making her losing some balance on the way. But before her ass knocked the concrete floor, solid arm slipped behind the small of her back.
âYou know youâll be a mess like this by yourself but still took the risk leaving me behind. Seriously?â
She wanted to pinched her cheeks, her arms, her thighs, everything, just to make sure that this is not the dream she always had by the end of the day when the only thing she could do was crying until she fell into slumber.
Before sheâs able to unfold some words, he brought back his humongous smile and sat them both, his hand still secured on her waist.
âSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago.â
âWhat?â
âTwenty six minutes ride of subway from your campus to mine. Itâs fifteen minutesâ drive actually but I donât have my car here.â
Silent still kept her mouth shut. Her eyes not leaving his bright face for any second, afraid when she turned away then everything would vanish from her sight immediately.
âSorry I catch you up like this. I did keep my eyes on you for a while like a creep from inside, actually. One of the waiter been narrowing his eyes on me, ready to ring the police, I guess. But. Look, Gwiboon. This miââ
The entire speech he already prepared pushed back down his throat when Gwiboonâs finger stopped him. She traced his lips, painstakingly slow for both preference, then moved to rest her hand on his cheek. The warmth is evident in her palm telling her this is not merely an illusion.
âIs this you?â
âErr, no, this is Andy Samberg,â he rolled his eyes mimicking how would usually Gwiboon do, âGuess I have to disappoint you, because, yeah, this is only me. Andy Samberg is too funny too smart too cool if I let him here in front of you then yââ
And the dam on her eyes just crumbled, hot current flows without break from it, creating small rivers across her tired face.
Now itâs his turn to stretch his hand on her cheeks, wiping the tears carefully as if single stroke might ruin her perfect skin.
âNo, no, no.. Shhh.. the last time you cried in public I got to deal with thousand sleepless nights and long drives around the city to kill the time that somehow moved too slow after I got slapped by the girl I love. Remember?â
Gwiboon is not only choked by the tease, but also shocked by the confession at the end.
âYâyou.. Lâlo-â
âLove. Yes, Kim Gwiboon. I love you. I love you so much. I should have arrived earlier but I got delayed on graduation when you just marched out my room. I have no one to ask, where are you, what are you doing. I couldnât go to Jonghyun, I couldnât drive to your house, and your dorm has another resident already. I thought Iâd lost you forever.â
âYou thought.â
He nods and released his hands from her face when she started to get a grip of herself and fix the damage she made by breaking down into a messy crying.
âFor keeping you in the dark. I was.. afraid.â
âAfraid?â
âAll those rumor, I think itâs safe to say now that not all of them are wrong. I fooled around before, like a lot. I didnât take relationship as something serious and using my past unfortunate events as an excuse for toying peopleâs feeling just to protect mine. Falling for you, wasnât my plan from the start. It was just a stupid crush, or as Jonghyun said back then, a perfect prey for a starving hyena.â
âOuch. That hurts.â
âIâm not finish, and for that, go get Jonghyun to release your anger. Not my words, his.â
He flicked her nose softly, huge smile still plastered on his face, still indulged on the striking sight in front of him, Kim Gwiboonâs peeling her heart out, trying to be as honest as possible, the day he never thought would come to his life, âGo on.â
âSurprisingly, you made everything so easy. It made me happy, you.. made me happy. At the same time, it frightened me. I kept making what if scenario. What if Jinki realized it was a mistake? What if Jinki found another girl? What if I fell in love with Jinki?â
âWhat if Gwiboon left Jinki?â
An audible gasp slid through her cupid mouth. Thereâs a sheer of pain hanging on Jinkiâs eyes. Though is not obvious, his smile dimmed a little bit, leaving her with her guilt-ridden heart.
âWhat if Jinki was pretty sure that Gwiboon is the one who brought the best in him? What if Jinki was the one thought he would be doomed once he accepted the grad school offer? What if Jinki was actually the one whoâs afraid Gwiboon would leave him?â
âAnd I did.â
âAnd she did.â
He thought once he saw her he would vent out all the suppressed feeling and pain he stored, but the look on her eyes told him that the only thing he needs is not someone to take his rage, but an explanation to save him from loss of sight.
âIâm stubborn, over-achiever, and just like they used to call me back then, stone-cold-bitch. No one actually gave themselves a chance to understand who I really am, a girl who is desperate enough looking for happiness that she might not deserved. And when that happiness started to come into her life, sheâs terrified of losing it once her lucky star faded out.â
She stopped when she felt heatâs crawling her eyes, again. Whatâs worse than guilty? Regret. And thatâs what splashed all over him after being such an ass to force his ego to know the intention why she left. His hands nonchalantly caress her cheek which she kissed it straightaway to make sure he knew sheâs alright.
âWe can talk about it later, okay, Babe? Now we have all the time in the world, hmm?â
She shakes her head vigorously, telling him she needs to get it out her limb immediately, âI thought it would better if I turned the situation around. I thought it would be better if I dragged myself away as early as possible. Because the whole moving shenanigans are absolute for me, whatever happened, I need to leave and go here.â
âIf you told me earlier, we can save time,â the tears started blurred her vision again, âAnd tears.â
âIâm sorry dropping the bomb like that.â
âThe worst day of my existence,â she frowned again, Gwiboon trailed his forehead and swiped aside his bangs delicately, âAlthough, Iâm such a loser myself, so I do owe you apology as well. Being coward didnât take me anywhere but hell. The idea of falling in love, itâs still so unreal for me. Then I saw your smile, I surrendered. Somehow along the way, I became very dependent with you. That was partly making me questioned myself, where is the Jinki I thought I knew? I didnât know how you saw this, saw us, and the image of rejection scared the shit out of me. I fell in love with you faster than I woke up in the morning. And it gave me panic attack.â
Panic attack.
Gwiboon couldnât find another word to describe her own situation, but Jinki recited it in the best way. In a very simple way, in a very honest way, in a very Jinki way. She searched doubt on his eyes, and genuineness is the only thing she could find in it. Sure he looks exhausted, and slightly anxious, but the way those two orbs staring back at her, for now, sheâs sure enough itâs the place where theyâre supposed to be, in each otherâs orbit.
âI miss you, Lee Jinki. I do.â
âI miss you more, you have no slightest idea.â
âAre we gonna fight over who miss whom the most?â
âIf you insist? Like I said, we have all the time in the world.â
âNo, we donât,â now itâs Jinki who turned sour, âBecause I promised this dino brother of mine to get his records today and next Wednesday I will have dessert assessment so Tuesday most likely would be spent on the kitchen.â
âSo, youâre saying?â
âIâm saying we only have less than 3 x 24 hours to catch up before I buried myself on pre-test frustration.â
Looking at Gwiboon flailing her hands frantically, he can only chuckled, âGuess some things didnât change.â
And the trademark eyes-rolling is back. He missed that, unexpectedly.
âLikewise.â
âOkay, so letâs get the errands done. I donât want listen to Jonghyun berating me about his records obsession and how I ruined his day as new blackmail resources. And weâll figure it out whatâre we going to do after because Iâm super awkward now.â
âAwkward? Why awkward?â
âYou think spying a girl only two days after godly hours of flight then just letting your gut out to confess while fighting horrendous jetlag didnât make you awkward?â
Gwiboon cannot hide her anticipation anymore, the grin almost splits her face into two. She cupped his face with both hands to fix his eyes that wandered around to avoid her gaze so she can look straight to him.
âWow. Lee Jinki is awkward after confessing? Whatâs with his track records on girls?â
âNone of them even close to you, of course Iâm awkward.â
Something burst inside her heart, something warm, something soothing. Nevertheless, she pressed his cheeks more, squished it with all her might making his adorable full lips pouting cutely, because his words just flee her to the cloud nine.
âAlways had his way with the words.â
âLike I said before, some things didnât change,â he peeled her hand slowly from his face then wrapped them on his chest, âWe canât be here all day, can we?â
âUh oh.â
âThen?â
âThe records store is thirty minutes subway ride. After that, we can grab lunch and go to my apartment catch up, chilling, and you know..â
âI know?â
âYou know..â
âKnow what?â
âWecanmakeoutlikeweusedtobe or else. You have any suggestion?â
âHmm. Iâm about to say we can explore Millennium Park and stroll the downtown and later get back to either of our places to binge watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine but Iâm okay with that too.â
Face turned between tangerine and tomato, Gwiboon playfully swatted Jinkiâs arm, which the latter pretend to shriek as if someone just pushed him in front of a taxi.
âI never thought I would miss your pervy head over there, you fool.â
âYouâre the one who has dirty mind here. But as I told you before, this pervy head has lots of secret to charm his lady away,â he paused for a while, cringed on his own words, âOkay that was another awkward moment.â
Gwiboon giggled in delight, âShut up and just kiss me.â
âAs you wish, My Lady.â
Jinki never realized how perfectly fit his hand on the curve of her face. Everything he took for granted before, including feeling the warmth of her cheek and the way her hair fell into its respective places around her temple, now all clear before his eyes and he silently promised he wonât let it go again.
The first touch of his lips on hers makes Gwiboon shuddered. He tastes like peaches. Fluffy and soft, sweet and fresh. How she survived these past months without him is beyond her common sense. Her respiratory system is full with his scent and she knew she just breathed happiness.
âI love you, My Pervy Head.â
âI love you too, My Princess.â
***
âCan you at least put on something?â
Gwiboon shot him mischievous glare from the kitchen island. They just moved to a new apartment, their new apartment. Jinkiâs scholarship actually gave him accommodation in the universityâs dorm. But a man with a very good common sense would never turn down an opportunity to share apartment with a human form of flawless goddess like Gwiboon. And as far anyone knew, Jinki is a man with a very good common sense.
Three days after he shown up in front of Gwiboon, they walked around down town to visit some realtor office. Found it difficult to find a decent apartment without burning his bank account, Jinki called it a day and told Gwiboon he gave up and probably would take the offer for the dorm not only for one semester but the whole year, or even the whole course period. Before they left the last office, she suggested finding bigger apartment for them since they will be in Chicago for at least the next two years and she needs to find another one since her roommate is about to be graduated soon and she cannot find anyone to replace her to avoid losing the lease.
So here they are, in their small reasonable priced apartment with exposed brick walls and cute kitchen, stuffs scattered here and there, some are still inside the luggage, some are still inside the boxes, almost six months after settle down with their feelings. They didnât get the one that close enough to their school because all the units there tried to choke their necks, but this one has mini patio-like balcony and only two blocks away from the city center, so no one is actually mad here.
âYouâre wearing your boxers and I cannot wear it?â
Jinki looked again to her direction only to find Gwiboon checking her reflection by the fridge door which is not covered by the Polaroids she once sent to Jinki, purposely tilted her hips a bit so he can found the piece of clothes not enough covering the globes below her waist.
He kicked stacked of magazine he just pulled out from the box to release his frustration.
âFirst, I have my t-shirt on. Second, the one that you picked is called trunks.â
âWell, in my defense, youâre wearing sleeveless. You have no idea what those biceps did to me.â
âWell, in my defense, at least Iâm covering my chest. You have no idea what those.. Those..â
He scratched his not itchy head, mentally curse his weak barricade, tongue failed to cooperate helping him composing some words to cover his nervousness.
âThose what?â
Gwiboonâs then gulping some water, head thrown to the back, stretching her neck perfectly since she knew a pair of eyes is currently enjoying the view.
âKim Gwiboon, please..â
Looking at Jinkiâs pouting, Gwiboon then blew some kisses knowing that she had just won the teasing battle.
âFine.. as you wish.â
âThank you so much.â
He looks down to his lower region, that was a close call. Jinki then back to his previous activities which is sitting on the floor near the balcony sorting the books and photo albums, including what looks like folder full of sketches belongs to Gwiboons.
âBaby, I think we need to buy some extra folders for our sketching paper. Or do you think we caââ his words are cut out when Gwiboon appeared before his eyes after putting some clothes on, âOh, come on!â
âWhat now?â
âIs this what you called t-shirt?â she ducked her head down then shrugged, âI can still see your nipples peeking out, crystal clear! And itâs only covering one of your shoulder!â
Gwiboon laughed, pulled the fallen sleeve back to its position and dropped herself on the other side of the huge box Jinki has been digging for the past hour, left him crimson red because he definitely can see her chest jiggling and bouncing behind the sheer material.
âWell, then control your thirst! This is the only thing I could find, thereâs Titanic moved to the cramped walking closet.â
âThatâs because youâre supposed to arrange our wardrobe there but instead you decided trying some racy clothes then called your boyfriend to ask how do you look.â
Boyfriend.
Gwiboon loves it whenever Jinki used that term.
âOh, then whoâs fault is then when my boyfriend cannot handle himself and fuck me senselessly on the spot? And on the living room? And that night on the balcony?â
Admitting his defeat, Jinki glanced quickly to his boxers, Iâm so sorry I gotta betray you. He cleared his throat nervously before continued his reasoning.
âFor your information, not senselessly. Pardon me for being such a cheeseball, but I did it with love, care, and sincerity. Once again, though some of them are rough, itâs not senselessly.â
Gwiboon slid to his laps and pushed the box a bit further before pressing her palm to his cheek, aiming his sinful lips and crushed it gently with hers, not forget to nip the lower lip a little bit, as for his liking.
âI know. Thatâs why I kept calling you to the walking closet.â
He sighed once again and murmuring some words while resting his lips on her, âThis is the reason why we havenât finished organizing the house. I failed myself as an architect.â
âThe house can wait, but not this one, Honey.â
She started mouthing his jawline and took her time to savor his adamâs apple. Jinkiâs loosening his grip on her waist a little bit, giving her space to peel his tank top.
âHmmm.. since when youâre into pet names?â
âSince Lee Jinki.â
Jinki canât seem tear his gaze from the finest girl he ever met which currently melted onto his arms. Flushed and glowing, she looks the softest and he found it hard to decide what will be the best word to describe how beautiful she is. Oddly, out of nowhere, he remembered his History of Contemporary Architecture class on his freshman year where his professor for the first time introduce him to Le Corbusier, which later on became his obsession who brought him to two weeks trip in France just to visit his buildings.
Corbusier once said, when a work reaches its full potential in terms of intensity, proportions, quality of workmanship and perfection, a phenomenon of indescribable space occurs, the rooms begin to radiate. They physically radiate.
And thatâs what happened to Gwiboon. Sheâs the correct amount of strength and fear in a person, the best proportion of rage and excitement. Out of all the short trips and extended journey Jinki had been through, sheâs the longest road of aesthetic heâs sure he would never be bored with. Just like that, she radiates, brightens his once gloomy and stagnant heart, and expands every corner of it for more space where love and courage can grow. Â
Gwiboon intertwined her fingers on the nape of his neck and Jinki didnât waste another second to close the gap between their mouths. Jinkiâs heart swell, contented when the vanilla scent of Gwiboon â which once he was convinced, is not from her perfume but her own scent â is the only thing he can sense. The only thing matters at the moment.
Back then after they lost Eve in a park near their house, his father once told six years old Jinki that what's meant to be will always find a way. A way to be, a way to come back. When the sweet little puppy came back home one week later with an open wound near the tail, Lee Jinki decided to take those wise words as one of his lifeâs pillar.
And once again, it doesnât fail him.Â
âBaby, you said weâre going to try this new restaurant tonight?â
She hold her grunts, face still buried deep on his neck, annoyed by Jinkiâs choice of words on such time, âHmmm, Eunsook said she wanted to celebrate their engagement there.â
Impatient, she pressed herself tighter to Jinkiâs now bare chest. She loves to talk to her boyfriend but really, now is not the time. Not when she has her legs wrapped around his waist.
âSo weâll meet them on the spot?â
She stopped her attack on his collar bones and pulled her face away, now eyes straight drilling Jinkiâs, face washed with that irritated look.
âI told you last night theyâre coming here first to check our place! Are you seriously wanted to talk about it now?!â
Jinki chuckled, and pecked her lips repeatedly to sooth her rage, âBaby, what time again Jonghyun said theyâre coming over?â
Gwiboon almost pushed Jinki chest away out of frustration, but his arms locked right behind her back, secured her on his laps, confusing her more with the same amount of starvation mirrored on his eyes.
âAround five. Or six. Who the hell know!!! Why are we even having this conversation?!â
She felt a strong grip palming her ass, for a second sheâs convinced that heâs teasing her, knowing it would annoy her whenever sheâs needy.
âWhereâs your phone?â if she doesnât love him, she would send one perfect jab right below his chin, but claiming Lee Jinki as her personal guardian angel, she could only be dumbfounded by such question, anger pooling right at the back of her throat without able to pipe it out.
And Jinki found it cute, again. Well, the way she breathes and swipes her bangs are also cute, so this is actually not so fair judgement.
âItâs still eleven now. Remember the list of spots in the house we need to assess that you keep there?â
A smile came back to her face along with the smirk on his face. Gwiboon cupped his face and flushed her torso to Jinkiâs front.
âI have memorized it well. Kitchen, now.â
***
Heyhoo, peeps! Actually I finished this a while ago, but please forgive my strugs-to-func brain because I only uploaded to my AFF and forgot to cross post it here, so, yeah, apologize!
What a journey! From View era until now. Like I said in my AFF, thank you so much for walking along with me, for sending me support and lovely messages. Been a roller-coaster feeling here. Hopefully, you like how itâs ended :) I was this close to make it not in a happy ending haha sue me lol
And hopefully, this would be one of your reminiscent of our angel Kim Jonghyun who loves his member just like this Jonghyun loves his baby sister Gwiboon.
I am planning to make extra chapter, like an âAsk Your Questionsâ chapter where you can send me (and the characters) messages, about the plot of the story, about the trivia, about everything you want to know from their life.
Iâll be back to write soon. Of course after the graduation. Which is less than two months *finger crossed*. So until then, me and Jinki, Gwiboon, Taemin, Jonghyun, and Minho will wait for your questions because weâre sooooo excited about the extra chapter!
Last but not least, I wish you all the happiness in the world! Iâm here if you need a friend to talk! XOXO