Chapter 46. Return

Her head was spinning and she just deposited a good amount of her stomach in the toilet bowl but she still felt like she wanted to vomit all her internal organs. Never in her life she got drunk like that and vowed to herself that she would never do anything stupid like that again.

This hangover was killing her.

On top of that, whoever said that overindulgence of alcohol causes memory lapse should be shot. Joohyun could only wish that her mind would forget what happened that night, last night—everything that happened, but it was there hovering on top of her head, reminding her that she just made things worse.

She felt like crap, literally and figuratively.

“Joohyun?” Her nana peeked at her door after knocking twice, “Yonghwa is here to see you…”

And before she could even react, she caught sight of him behind her nanny. Her eyes widened and adjusted her camisole to cover her bare legs. The old woman wore a small smile and her eyes glittered with mischief that Joohyun had to roll her own. Nana moved aside and Yonghwa finally appeared by her door. It was definitely weird that he had to come up here in her bedroom rather than wait outside which was more proper.

Speaking of propriety, she stood and grabbed the robe she hung by her bedpost and wrapped herself quickly. “Oppa…” she greeted with a sigh when the old woman left. She didn’t have any plans of inviting him in but he was already there so she managed a small smile, “Sorry, I just woke up—I haven’t even washed my face yet.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry for barging in like this… I… I was just worried,” Yonghwa looked around for a place to sit— aside from the bed of course, until he decided to take that window seat at the far end of the room. He was not comfortable with the idea of going straight to her bedroom but her nanny forced him to be there saying that it would be a good wake up greeting for Joohyun, which he really hoped to be.

“Oh… uhm, I do have a hangover,” she said sheepishly then gestured towards the other door, “I’ll go wash up first.”

Joohyun moved to her bathroom without waiting for his reply and, once she made sure that she locked the door, she stared at herself in the mirror and sighed, “Okay, Joohyun, you don’t remember anything that happened last night…”

Only that she did.

“Oh, god, this is so hard…” She buried her face on her wet hands.

After she managed to calm herself even for a bit and, at the same time, wash away the evidence of sleep and hangover off her body, Joohyun went out to see him still seated on her window sill. He looked up to her with that smile she obviously missed. She was racking her brain for something to say when there was a soft tap on her door and Nana came in again carrying a tray of food. It was only then that Yonghwa stood to help the old woman arrange her breakfast on that little table by the window.

Joohyun walked to them feeling a bit skeptic of the smile her nanny was wearing only to realize that she hadn’t introduced them yet, “She’s Mrs. Park—my nanny for as long as I can remember,” she smiled lovingly at the old woman, “She has been with the family for eons of years…”

“I have been here for eons of years now but this is quite a surprise for me,” Nana wiped her hands on the apron wrapped around her skirt and straightened, “A young man bringing food to uri Joohyun early in the morning.”

“Huh? You brought them?”

“Yeah, chicken soup is good for hangover,” he smiled self-consciously and was glad enough to see her looking more curious at the food that he brought. At least, waking up earlier than he usually does would be worth it especially with the smile she was wearing as she watched the assortment of side dishes he brought with the soup and the two kinds of kimchi his mother added.

“So you should start eating while the food is still hot,” Nana pulled the chair for her then chuckled as she spoke, “And I’ll leave you two… alone.”

Joohyun almost laughed at the way she stressed the last word since her Nana had also been bugging her for another ‘darling baby to take care of.’ Bringing Euna home for visits was probably a good idea at this rate.

“Thank you for your help, Mrs. Park.” Yonghwa walked the old woman out of her room but he couldn’t stop himself from taking little glances at her. It was like those times in the office where he would consciously look at her and pray that she wouldn’t notice— she did every time and he knew that. Only that now she didn’t notice so he settled on the sight of watching her eat what he prepared for her.

“What are you doing there?” Joohyun asked without taking her eyes off the savory soup. She knew that he had been watching her from the distance and the longer he stood there, the more anxious she got. “Come here, oppa…”

“How are you feeling?” He asked cautiously as he sat on the opposite chair.

“Not so good,” she shrugged then scooped another spoonful of rice, but before she took it in, she asked, “Did you really make these yourself?”

“Of course!” Yonghwa groaned almost complaining. Joohyun just gave him a small smile and resumed eating. Last night, he was terrified especially when she said she was tired because he knew what it meant. For the past days that she was gone, he was able to think deeply albeit still unassured and unsure.

Joohyun wanted something from him he didn’t know how to give.

“I’m sorry yesterday, I got so drunk,” she said in a small voice when the silence was starting to ring in her ears. She looked at him for a fraction of seconds then continued, “They told me you brought me home.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. It was written all over her face that she didn’t really want to talk about what transpired that night and he was more than willing to play along the pretense that nothing happened. Putting a big chunk of meat on her bowl, Yonghwa spoke patronizingly, “Eat up, it will do you good…”

Joohyun only nodded as she ate that chicken he gave. She was indeed feeling a little better and just realized how hungry she was until she took her first bite. It wasn’t her plan to get drunk that night when she invited her friends to go out just because she couldn’t wait for the day to be over. Now that she saw him again, the conflicting feelings came back. During those days that she was away, she managed to convince herself that she would be okay if she breaks up with him and it would avoid her from being hurt deeper and longer.

But now that Yonghwa was sitting across her— so close that she could almost feel the warmth he emitted, she couldn’t go through with it. Even the plan she put up in her head how she would do it su