House rent…electric…telephone and internet.

She punch in another digit on the calculator.

Ahjumma’s salary. Groceries.

Jihoon taps her fingers on the table, thinking. That’s all for this month, I think.

She reaches for her hand bag beside the table, taking out a light blue colored purse with simple flower decoration on it. She took out a few 50,000 won and put it inside a brown envelope.

I’ll just ask Ahjumma to give it to Mr. Housemate tomorrow. It’s up to him whether to accept it or not. At least Lee Jihoon didn’t rely on someone else for my living.

 “Ahjumma, morning!” Seungcheol put his briefcase beside one table’s leg.

“Good morning, Ahjumma!” Jihoon landed a peck on the older woman’s cheek before taking her seat at the table.

“Morning.” The older woman pours a cup of tea for Jihoon.

Seungcheol pout. “Ahjumma…”

Smile. “Don’t worry. I already prepare your coffee.” She place a cup of tea in front of Jihoon before pouring some coffee for the beaming young man.

“Thanks, Ahjumma.”

Jihoon took a mouthful fried rice that has been prepared by Ahjumma, their maid that Seungcheol’s mother hired to help them with the house chores since both of them are working.

Seungcheol bite on the toast, his left hand reaching for today’s newspaper. He absent mindedly flip the pages. Nothing catches his attention after all.

“Jihoon ah, are you going to be back for dinner?”

Nod. “But I’ll be a bit late. You can eat first, Ahjumma.” She push the already clean plate before reaching for her cup of tea.

“Seungcheol?”

“Like always.”

Jihoon rose from her seat. “Ahjumma, I’ll be going first. See you this evening.” She gave another peck to the woman’s cheek, swiftly walked past the only guy without looking back. Not a minute later, the sound of car going out was heard.

He took a glance at his watch. Seungcheol’s eyes widen. I’m so gonna stuck in the traffic if I leave later. “Ahjumma, I’m going too. Bye.”

“Drive safely.”

Ahjumma starts cleaning the table, occasionally shaking her head at the couple’s attitude. Both of them are just like a magnet. Except that it’s a magnet that repels each other. It’s been a month since Jihoon and Seungcheol got married, moving to a double storey house bought by both their parents.

Rather than acting like an already married couple, they act like housemate instead. With Seungcheol taking the main room, and Jihoon settle down with another room that was supposed to be a working space for both of them, completely modified into a bedroom for her. They decided not to disturb the two guest room since their parents might come for a stay in the future-only if they still stay together tho- and found out that Jihoon and Seungcheol is on a bad terms.

They are lucky that Ahjumma can keep up with their act, a childish act according to Yoongi. Even more lucky that Ahjumma didn’t report it to the Big Boss. Also known as the parents.

The one to open the door for him is his mother in law. Seungcheol flash a smile.

“Oh Seungcheol? You’re alone?” she peeks behind his shoulder.

Grin. “I haven’t got back home yet, mom.” He took a step inside the house. “Is Yoongi hyung home?”

“Yo, idiot. I’m here.” His same aged brother in law replied from the living room.

His mother frown. “Yoongi, that’s not nice.”

Grinning, Yoongi pats the empty beside him on the couch. “Seungcheol, come here.”

Mrs. Lee just shakes her head, making her way to the kitchen.

Seungcheol sigh loudly when he’s sure that the woman in her fifty is out of his view, and of course out of anywhere near hearing his depressed sigh.

“It’s still that bad?”

He slumped down on the couch beside his brother in law. “Worse.” He groaned. “It feels like I’m back to my Master days back in London, sharing a house with another three friends.”

Yoongi laugh. “It’s that bad?”

“She splits the rent, the bills, Ahjumma’s pay. Pretty much everything.” Pout. “Why can’t she just let me be responsible on her for once. I’m her husband, for god sake.”

He reached for the remote on the coffee table. “You know how stubborn she can be if she wants. Ahjumma told me you don’t eat together except breakfast.”

Seungcheol fixed his eyes on the tiger chasing a deer on the television screen. “Only if she have a morning shift.”

He turned to face Yoongi. “You know what she says?”

“What?”

“She told me to find someone else.”

Yoongi laugh out loud. “That’s cool. We can have a wedding together.”

Seungcheol sigh again. My brother in law is not helping at all.

“Anyway, I have a week off starting tomorrow. I’ll be hanging around your place, I guess. Already told Jihoon about this. Did she tell you?”

He rolled his eyes. “She didn’t even said goodbye when she’s off to the hospital, do you think she’ll tell me? You always had a day off or something. Are you slacking off or what?”

Yoongi hit the back of Seungcheol’s head. “Idiot! I’ve been staying OT for three days, and you accused me of slacking off? How ungrateful of you!”

“I’m home.”

Seungcheol’s chopstick stopped from shoving a nice looking pieces of meat into his mouth. Welcome  home. He greets mentally, his face still facing his meal for dinner.

“Welcome home, Jihoon ah. Do you want to eat right now?” Ahjumma asked from her place at the dining table. She put her chopstick down, ready to step out from her seat to prepare the meal.

Jihoon shakes her head. “I’ll eat later. I want to shower first. Thank you, Ahjumma.” I’d rather starve for a while than eating with that destroyer. She gave a light small to the middle aged woman before climbing up the stairs to her room.

He sighs at the sound of closed door.

Ahjumma shakes her head again. “When are you going to be on good term with your wife?”

Seungcheol flashed a thin smile. Good term? Sorry, but there’s no answer for that.

Jihoon sprawled on her king sized bed, clad in shorts and white t-shirts. Her stomach grumbled loudly. I’m hungry.

But there is no sound of the door next door being opened or what, and that means that the idiot is still downstairs, and she definitely refused to be in the same space as him, even if they are now living together or what.

But I’m so ing hungry. Her stomach grumbled again. Jihoon sigh.

“I’ll just go down, I guess.” She put on a long sweatpants, still not comfortable with going out just in shorts just like how she used to do back in her home. Even back in college, Lee Jihoon is known as someone who never wore skirt except for the school uniform, that she always wore with black tights underneath.

She poked her head through the stairs. The TV is on.

Jihoon clicked her tongue. Waste my time waiting for him to get into his room.

The smells of stew make her stomach grumble more.

Thank god we have Ahjumma, or else the kitchen would just stay as a decoration at the house. Jihoon would never cook unless she has something she wants to eat since all day long she’ll be at the hospital anyway. If she has to feed that particular guy, she’ll just tell him to eat outside, or order delivery. Or Jihoon can just bring back home hospital meal. Serve him right.

Not an ideal wife at all.

Sue me. She replied to herself. Exactly when am I going to cook anyway? I have a full day at the hospital, and when I come back, bed is the first things that come in my mind.

She walks past the living room, approaching Ahjumma who seems busy washing all the dishes. Jihoon hugs the woman from back. “Ahjumma…” She whines.

Ahjumma smile. “I already reheated your meal for you. It’s at the counter.”

“Yeay! Thank you, Ahjumma.” Jihoon cheers. She gives a peck on her cheek before plopping down the stool by the counter. “Have you eaten?”

“I have with Seungcheol just now.”

She pouts for a while. “Ahjumma, I have a free day tomorrow. Can we cook something, like jajangmyeon? I’ve been craving for some homemade one.”

The middle aged woman rinses her hands before wiping it on a clean cloth. She took a seat on a stool in front of Jihoon. “Really?”

“Yup.”

Nod. “Sure. We have all the ingredients anyway.”

Jihoon fist pump mentally. This house is mine tomorrow! Oh yeah!

‘Yo ladies, this is your story.

Ije wake up, wake up, wake wake wake up…’

Jihoon groaned, pulling the duvet more to shield against Seungkwan’s voice that she set as her alarm early in the morning.

Seeing as the alarm won’t stop by itself, she blindly reach for her phone without opening her eyes. Squinting her eyes, she successfully swipe her smartphone, thus ending her blaring alarm.

Any other day, she would be grateful for the alarm, but not today.

She had a day off.

It’s still early, and since she could only hear the sound of shower from the next room, Seungcheol must just woke up too.

Jihoon would really appreciate another 30 minutes nap while waiting for the walking nuclear to get lost from the house.

Seungcheol bring the cup close to his lips, carefully sipping some hot coffee. Carefully putting the white porcelain back on the table, he took the newspaper at the corner of the table, flipping the pages, looking for something interesting.

“Ahjumma, she’s not working today?”

She lifts her face from the bean sprout soup. “Who?”

Seungcheol fight the urge to just roll his eyes. “As if there’s any other human in this house.”

Ahjumma frown. “That’s not nice, Seungcheol.”

He decided not to give any comment.

She smiles, shaking her head a bit. “She had a day off.”

He just nods.

Jihoon stretches.

She fall asleep, or nap, in the most uncomfortable position ever.

“Ughh, my shoulder hurts.” Jihoon swings her arm back and fro, trying to ease the pain. “I’ll ask Ahjumma to help me later.” She got down from her messy bed, yanking her towel and straight into the bathroom for a nice shower.

She settles for a light blue sleeveless tee and a black shorts. Turning on the hair dryer, she ran it along her waist long hair. The blonde has faded, leaving her hair in some kind of ash brown color. I really need to cut my hair. It’s too long and too much work to do, drying and all that. Do I dye it again? Brown? Pastel?

After making sure that her hair is dried just fine, she pull her drawer, taking a yellow hair tie out and tied her hair in a high pony tail.

Humming some tone, she light heartedly skipped to the stairs, only to halt at the middle. Her smile falter as she blinks.

For three whole seconds, she froze on the stair.

Before screaming at the top of her lungs, and scram back to her room.

Leaving Seungcheol gaping with an already limp newspaper in hands.

---

I'm the worst author ever.... urghhh.... the urge to just abandon this is so strong.

I'm struggling with my studies so I dont have that much to write even.

I'm so sorry.