They didn’t know since when they became kinda close and comfortable with each other that now they were sitting on the couch, side by side in Youngsaeng’s living room. Their hands were holding mugs filled with the yellowish fluid, his most favorite orange juice.

They weren’t talking nor did they make an effort to talk. But they were pretty secure with it that seemed like even if people locked them there for years they would just be fine with the silence. They had got used to it. That was her own nature essentially. And for him, spending the night taking care of her also the morning when they finished their breakfast together made something unfamiliar grew even more in himself. But it just felt right.

“Earlier…” Seungyeon initiated a conversation. “When you said you would cook something for breakfast, I really expected something.” She put the mug on the small table in front of her, took a cushion then placed it on her lap. For the first time in her life, she initiated a conversation with a ‘stranger’ not because she felt awkward for not saying something or because she needed to, but because she wanted to.

He was in the middle of mind wandering when he heard her voice crawling through the air, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

“Something? What?” He remained calm as he asked back. His tone and his expression stayed the same but inside he could feel his heart jolted a little bit, again for some un-understand-able reason.

“You know, cooking means…something.”

Youngsaeng chuckled as soon as he realized what that girl was meant.

“Ya, even though it was just ramyun, it was still cooked. I cooked it. Don’t you see me boiled it earlier?” He replied while following her step, putting the mug on the table. Leaning himself back to the couch, he started to questioned himself again for being such a jokester that day.

“Oh well, you’re right.” She talked in a strange tone. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the small pout that was forming on her lips. Was it a disappointment?

She wasn’t disappointed, or at least not that much though. It was just, she felt like he was making fun of her since the moment she just woke up. The thought of it somehow annoyed her, and not to mention the questions that were filling her mind since not too long ago. How could she start to feel comfortable around him…that fast?

For a while, they fell again into their own silence. Both minds were busy wandering around, thinking hard about the unanswered questions that each of them had in each mind, a bunch of repetitive ‘why’ and ‘how’.

Why do I care about her?

Why did I run to his place when he’s merely a stranger?

*

“Kyujong Oppa! Good morning!” Jiyoung shouted happily as she saw the familiar figure entering the same elevator that she just took a while ago. “What are you doing here?” Not bothering to wait for him to greet her back, she threw out an obvious question.

“Jjing-ah, I need to talk about the group project that I do with your oppa.” Pressing the number five button, he then turned toward the young girl, giving her his usual warm smile. The innocent pursed her lips making a shape of ‘o’ silently and then smiled brightly at him in return.

As the elevator started to move up, Kyujong stepped backwards making himself standing comfortably next to the little girl, having no idea that he just made someone’s heart beating faster. Jiyoung fanned herself, feeling hot in such cold winter.

“And you, what are you doing here?” He asked as they went out of the elevator, marching their feet on the fifth floor of the building.

“As usual, taking the food that auntie cooked for him.” She replied, walking a little bit faster as they a corridor, leading him to the room where Youngsaeng lived in.

*

Youngsaeng turned himself toward her direction making his right shoulder leaned onto the couch. Intensely staring at her who sat just a few centimeters away from him, he knew really well that he gave her an uncomfortable commotion spreading in all over her self. But he was again enjoying it, the uncomfortable, timid and nervous Seungyeon.

“Can’t you smile?” That question was expelled out of his mouth. Uttered in a soft and gentle tone, there was no evidence of mocking or teasing there. He was being weird in a serious way.

It was Seungyeon’s turn to change her direction slowly toward him. “Ne?” She looked back with a disbelief and puzzled look on her face as if Youngsaeng was just stating that he actually came from Mars or something like that.

“Can you laugh?” Throwing out another weird question, he made Seungyeon furrowing her eyebrows even deeper in confusion. She waved her right hand in front of his face, “Heo Youngsaeng-ssi, are you by the chance just losing your mind or something?” She asked him back, now flicking her fingers in front of him hoping that he would come to his sense and realized that he was being really weird just now.

“I’m not.” He responded softly.

She stared at him for a while, looking for a playful sparkle in his eyes or anything that could show he was just playing around with her. But after some times, she found none. He really meant every question that he asked her and it made her relief somehow. She let out a small sigh. At least he’s not just making fun of me.

“Of course I can.” Firmly, she answered. More like daring him.

“But I’ve never seen it before.”

Without them knowing it, they were sitting really close to each other now that Seungyeon could examine his face even just from the corner of her eyes.

His skin is really white.

She hung her head down, staring blankly at her lap.

He’s quite chubby. There are these weird smile lines on his face.

“We just knew each other. Of course you haven’t seen it. Other than that, there was nothing to be laughed at.”

Seems that his forehead is quite wide, reminds me of Nicole.

Seungyeon shook her head off to chase the thoughts out of her mind. It was embarrassing to find her self examining a guy’s feature like that.

“You’re right. But still…” She heard him talking in a soft tone again.

“What are you up to?” It supposed to be said on her mind only but she seemed to be running out of her self control. Just the second after she shouted it off on her mind, her lips moved in synchronize forming the same words with the one that she thought just a second ago. The trance of annoyance somewhat showed on her tone.

 He chuckled at her remark, oddly sounded so pleased.  “Are you angry now?”

He even has dimples.

“Seriously, after I think about it- do you only can be angry, sad and cold all the times?” He added, earning a glare from her while a small pout forming on her lips.

*

“Shouldn’t we ring the bell first?” Kyujong asked as he saw Jiyoung pressing some number on the door, Youngsaeng’s apartment password.

“No need to. It’s still early morning. Youngsaeng oppa will scold me again if I wake him up by the sound of the bell.” She said as the door gave out a ‘bip’ sound as the sign that the door was open already.

“Is it really okay?” He asked again. Jiyoung gave him a reassuring smile. “Just believe in Jiyoung.” Chuckling, they walked in together.

*

“Are you making fun of me now?” Her voice trembled.

Even though for some reason that she didn’t know she was sure that he wasn’t but she couldn’t help but asked. She started to doubt what was real and what was not from him. Again, he was purely a stranger for her and she wasn’t a master on figuring someone’s personalities or their way of thinking.

Remembering their first meet when he didn’t even give a response to her greeting made her think that he wasn’t that type to joke around. But everything was possible after being tricked by him that morning she figured out that he really enjoyed watching her being like a scared and confused cat.

“Maybe I am maybe I’m not.” He replied, and it sounded more and more like teasing for her. The fact was it really was a tease.

“Heo Youngsaeng-ssi! I warn you,-”

“What?” Cutting her off, he leaned his face closer to her. Even though it was for the sake of teasing her even more, pushing her to the edge of her patience and making her annoyed even more, he could feel his own heart beat went gaga inside. He put his face in a too short distance for a (again) stranger and it had become more like digging for his own grave.

“W-w-what are you d-doing?”

Can someone die because of too much heart-beating?

.

.

.

.

.

“Aigoo, oppa! It’s still early in the morning and you are about to do that kind of thing already?”

Seungyeon jumped off from her seat as she heard a girl’s voice breaking through the air while Youngsaeng lazily turned his head and found Jiyoung standing there, covering her eyes with one hand pretending like she just saw something that would spoil her so called innocent eyes. Kyujong stood awkwardly beside her, eyes fixed at Seungyeon with an illegible look but then he looked away as it was hurting his eyes if he stared any longer.

“What? What thing are you talking about here?” Of course Youngsaeng knew what she meant but purposely acted like he didn’t know. Jiyoung’s eyes widened.

“Kissing!” She accused. They both seemed to forget that Seungyeon and Kyujong were there. They were falling too deep into their sibling-bickering.

“Tch!” Youngsaeng gave out an annoyed clicking sound, either he was feeling bothered for real or not. “Kiddo! That’s why I told you to stop reading those comics. We weren’t doing that!” He stopped, a smirk spreading on his face.

“But, even if we were really doing that, it has nothing to do with you. Since it’s my place, I can do anything that I want. At least I’m not the one who went to someone’s place early in the morning to-what? Having a date? Go somewhere else you two.”

Jiyoung was speechless. She knew that Youngsaeng did it as a joke but she couldn’t help but feeling hurt because she felt there were some real anger and scorn on every word. But what she did wrong, she thought. It wasn’t like it was the first time she played a joke on him right? Why he gave much response to her while usually he would just shrug it off.

“Oppa~” in the end she could only let out a small whine. Her face was blushing red as the effect of the word ‘date’ that Youngsaeng spilled but her eyes emitting hurt. And Seungyeon noticed it.

That was why when Youngsaeng was about to stand up from his seat, she gave a small tug on his shirt.

“What?” He asked. She took a slight breath while gathering the courage to in onto that siblings’ quarrel.

“You shouldn’t say that.” Seungyeon started. “That was too much. She was only joking but why are you being so serious? You’re hurting her. Apologize okay?”

Another new side of her that had yet to be discovered by Youngsaeng. She just talked in a really ladylike and motherly tone that even Kyujong; who had known her for more than 9 years; never heard before.

You could even talk in that kind of tone?

She gave another tug on his sleeve when Youngsaeng didn’t response to her. He seemed to be in a deep trouble, torn between apologizing and not apologizing. He didn’t do it purposely to hurt Jiyoung and after what Seungyeon told him, the regret was crawling up to his mind. She was right; he should’ve not done it. But somehow, seeing Kyujong there making he lost a hold of himself especially after what Gyuri told him the day before.

“Jiyoung-ah, I’m sorry okay?”

Jiyoung gaped in disbelief. It really surprised her and Kyujong. Both of them knew that Youngsaeng had never apologized as verbally to any other person alive. He always tried to not make mistakes so he wouldn’t need to apologize. Jiyoung started to think that there was really something wrong with her cousin. For heaven’s sake, he was the cold Youngsaeng who had broken many girls’ hearts and would never bother to even just looked back pitying them.

“Whoa daebak! Did you just say sorry to me? Whoa whoa, you did it just because of Seungyeon unnie right? I know it. Youngsaeng oppa wants to look nice in front of Seungyeon unnie. Daebak!”

Naturally, she was Kang Jiyoung after all. Sometime she would recklessly say whatever in her mind without much thinking just exactly like that time, earning a death glare from Youngsaeng.

“Kang Jiyoung, you’re gonna go get some from me later.”

Jiyoung pouted. “Unnie, did you see it? He’s only being nice to me when you’re around. Youngsaeng oppa is someone like that. Merong!” Sticking her tongue out, she ran off before Youngsaeng could stand up and get her.

“YA!” He shouted.

Seungyeon reflexively pulled Youngsaeng’s wrist when he stood up, about to chase Jiyoung who had run to the kitchen to save her life also to put all the food that his mom cooked on the fridge. No, she wasn’t trying to help Jiyoung again but a quick thought had hit her mind that if Youngsaeng left she would be alone there with Kyujong. And that would be scarier than watching a horror movie by her self.

“What now?” Youngsaeng turned his head and looked down at Seungyeon. “You’re going to protect her again?” He continued asking with an impatient tone on his voice.

“No-I-I think I should be going back home now.” She responded. Looking into his eyes deeply, putting all that she could into her own eyes to indicate her genuine reason why she didn’t want him to leave.

Please, that person there. Please.

It actually took some time before Youngsaeng could really understand what she was trying to put into words. Turning his head slightly and slowly, peeking on Kyujong who seemed to have become really interested in the design of Youngsaeng’s apartment ceiling that he kept on staring at it intensely. It was too much obvious that he was avoiding them.

“Ah, right. I’ll take you back.” Youngsaeng said.

“No need to. I can go by myself. But first, I think I left my cell phone on your room, I can’t find it on my pocket.”

“Do you want me to-?” He offered.

“No, I’ll just go get it.”

Seungyeon walked away toward Youngsaeng’s bedroom, feeling a little bit relief that she could escape from the aura of Kyujong’s existence. Her foot steps light.

She immediately found her pink cell phone rested peacefully on the night stand beside the bed. Putting it on her the side pocket of her jacket and looking around the room, she purposely stayed longer to give Youngsaeng and Kyujong time to hold a conversation because it seemed like Kyujong needed to talk about something with him that he came over.

Ten minutes. Seungyeon thought it was enough duration for the two guys to talk, so she decided to go back out. Staying on a guy’s room for too long was making her feel slightly uncomfortable even though she had spent her night there. It was different, she was unconscious back then.

But too much of her surprise, there was only Kyujong alone there. Youngsaeng, the person who held her hope and stand to be someone who was more like a shield for her to protect her from such incident was nowhere to be found on that room.

I’m a dead meat.

She wanted to run away but wasn’t brave enough. She had already walked into the area within Kyujong’s vision limits. It would be too late and too obvious that she was avoiding him; even though it was obvious already; while she didn’t want to look like a coward after what had happened yesterday. She didn’t want him to think and know that she was too weak, that he left a really big hole in her heart.

So she just stood there leaning to the wall, waiting for Youngsaeng or Jiyoung to show up. She wanted to call out Youngsaeng’s name, but wouldn’t it be really weird if they heard her saying ‘Youngsaeng-ssi’ while he was her ‘boyfriend’? Her mind was blank. And what she heard afterward adding more chaos inside her.

“I never knew that you are this cheap.”

She really didn’t know what Kyujong was trying to say actually. But just the way he uttered that words was already enough to make her feeling hurt. That tone of speaking was rude, humiliating and full of disgrace. The way that you used when you talk to someone who made you feel disgusted.

“What do you mean by that?” Managing her expression, pretending that she was alright, she wanted to show him that whatever he meant, it would no longer had any effect on her. She loved him and he once was one of really small amount of people where she could show her weakness to. But since he declared that he no longer wanted her in his life, then for her he would be back to his original position from years ago; a totally stranger that would only see her strong side.

Kyujong snorted when he turned around to look at her fiercely, an evil smirk on his face.

“Cheap! You even went to a guy’s apartment and entering his room now? I wonder what you guys did there.”

It hit her really hard. Out of all her twenty-two years old life, she never felt more dishonored than at that time. It hurt her even more with the fact that the one who said it was the person that she really respect and trust in her whole life, the guy that she loved.

“What did I do on my boyfriend’s bedroom? Hmm, I don’t see the reason why you have to be so concern and curious about it. Kim Kyujong-ssi, do we know each other? Aren’t we just stranger?” Staring back at him with the same fierce look, she gave him a plain look. Acting innocent. She didn’t know where the strength to do so came from.

**********************************************************

Author's note:

I'm really sorry for the lateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee update. I don't know how much I should say sorry to you all for always being late in updating the story. But still I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Just to let you know that I'm really thankful for having you guys who are willing to share their spare time to read this story. Thank you so much.

Don't forget to leave your comment and hit the subscribe button ;)

and, if there are any grammar and words error, please kindly let me know okay ;)

and last, Let It Go Let It Go Let It Go. Youngsaeng's song is really good right? So Seungyeon is slowly trying to let Kyujong go in this chapter. Letting her feelings for him go away, slowly.

okay, I'm random lol :P