Laundry Day

14.5.2018 / 3,362 words

Tuesday morning found Joohyun in the backyard, balancing on one feet while holding the other one up and desperately trying not to fall.

She tried to keep her cool. She slowly took a deep breath and let it leave her system gradually, comfortably, her eyes closed all the while. She wanted to concentrate on the clear, spring air and the quiet chirping coming from the forest nearby... too bad the knee Joohyun had been supported by has started trembling somewhere around two minutes in. 

When she felt her balance going off, Joohyun gave up with a sigh and let go of her leg. Damn, she went out of practice. She could do this pose easily in the past. 

"Joohyun-a?" 

"I'm outside, Miss Jung." 

The charwoman stepped out with a pan in hand and startled seeing the girl. 

"Just what were you doing outside?" 

"I was doing yoga... Well, I was trying to." Joohyun corrected her words. She put her hoodie back on and started to fix her messy bun. "I'm finishing up. Can I help you with anything?" 

"No, dear, I was just surprised to not see you -hey, why did you do the laundry? You're not supposed to." 

Joohyun put her tired leg on the trusty wood of the porch to stretch. In all honesty, she felt bad she lazed around the house ever since she came back to Korea. And besides, she liked doing laundry. 

"That's the least I can do." 

"Even so." The older woman grumped endearingly. She lightly touched a shirt hanging from the clothesline. Droplets of water were raining on the grass. "And you did a good job too... You're making me jobless." 

Joohyun shook her head with a smile. Oh, the irony. 

"You're essential to this household, Mrs. Jung." 

"So are you, believe me. Did the boys leave you alone again?" 

"Oppa had to pay a visit to the company. Sehun... I don't know. I woke up earlier than usual but I didn't see him leaving." 

Mrs. Jung nodded. 

"Sehunnie can be quite sneaky if he wants to. But I think they left together. When Junmyeon goes to Seoul, his brother usually drags along." 

"Seoul?" 

"Yes, that's where the company is." 

"The company is in Chuncheon." Joohyun said, almost unnecessarily because the strange look on Mrs. Jung had let her know she has been deceived. "Isn't it?" 

The Kim family has owned a shipping company starting with Junmyeon's great-grandfather. Since Joohyun isn't... very good when it comes to technical things, she refrained from getting involved with her boyfriend's job more than necessary. She knew Junmyeon is a CEO of some sort, therefore he's super busy and that's about it. It's been fine like this for both of them. 

However, at the moment, Joohyun felt uncomfortable she didn't know such an information. It made her wonder what else Junmyeon is hiding from her, and if he does, he hides it on purpose or not. 

"There's an office in Chuncheon. And there's another one in Seoul... But whatever, this company has offices all over Asia. Nobody can keep up." Mrs. Jung concluded it like that and turned a page. "You know what, I've changed my mind. You could help me with preparing lunch. The boys will be ravenous when they come back, I think I'd do better with more hands. What do you say?" 

"Yes, of course." 

Joohyun thought she could use a distraction. 

Mrs. Jung's idea of a lunch was more like of a feast. Joohyun couldn't help but gasp after learning what they're planning to make. 

"All of this under so little time?" 

"Why are you making that face, I've prepared some of it ahead!" Mrs. Jung chuckled and gave an apron to her new apprentice. "For example, the side dishes. And I cleaned the squid." 

Joohyun peered at the bowl with mild distaste. Seafood proved to be delicious when cooked but before that, it just looked weird and smelled interesting. 

"What do we do with it?" 

"Have you ever eaten stuffed squid? It's a Sokcho specialty, very variable yet always delicious. Kind of like sundae." 

"I've had sundae and squid before but never stuffed squid." Joohyun answered, aware of sounding unsure. She went to explain. "I can be sensitive to smells." 

"Good squid doesn't smell." Mrs. Jung smiled at her knowingly and lifted the bowl. "These are freshly picked from the market downtown. I don't think you need to worry about it but if you ever feel uncomfortable, just go out for a few minutes." 

Joohyun nodded in agreement, lightly touched. Mrs. Jung's had such a warm, nurturing personality. Joohyun understood now why both Junmyeon and Sehun trusted her so much – she just takes care of the people around her naturally. 

I wish to be a parent like that, the girl wondered while watching the older woman taking out the ingredients from the fridge and pantry. For a moment, Joohyun thought of her own mother but she dismissed that thought quickly. She didn't need stress for the morning. Instead, she took the vegetables to the tap to wash. 

Other than the main dish, they whipped up a kimchi stew as well, from kimchi Mrs. Jung has been preserving. 

"Now this smells...!" She exclaimed after opening the jar. 

Joohyun took a sniff of it. It wasn't too bad. On the contrary, she felt water. It's been a while she's had homemade kimchi. 

It must have showed on her face too because Mrs. Jung chuckled. 

"Just like my daughters. Especially Soohyun, of course. America has a lot of things but not kimchi this good." 

"Has she come back?" 

"For a few days, yes. Soojung is home too. She usually stays the weekend in the dorms but not now." The woman shook her head good-naturedly. "Or she was just dying to see her boyfriend." 

At the light reference to Jongin, Joohyun unconsciously remembered the scene where she witnessed the younger boy upset because of another girl... but Joohyun stopped being a busybody. With Sehun and everyone in general. 

She planned to lavish Junmyeon with attention instead, after all they were a couple. However, after finding out he possibly lied to her, that opportunity seemed less and less right. 

"What are you thinking about so deeply?" 

Joohyun turned her head towards Mrs. Jung a bit embarrassed. 

"Let me guess, Kim Junmyeon?" The older woman continued teasingly a little, enjoying how the girl lightly blushed. "You're such a matching couple. You kind of look alike too, have you heard it before?"

"Yes. Thank you." 

Mrs. Jung was chopping quietly for a while but then she suddenly spoke up. 

"Just between you and me, I wish Sehun's had somebody too... Tell me, has Kang Seulgi been over since you're here? 

Joohyun froze next to the stove where he was sent to check the broth. 

"Briefly. She brought pizza here a few times." 

"She still helps by the family business? Bless her." Mrs. Jung exclaimed before continuing. "Well, she was Soojung's classmate in high school. They're friends, you can say, but lately they drifted apart a little. You know, they're both busy with their studies." 

Joohyun stirred the broth without a word. She was curious where this is going. 

"And Seulgi is friends with Jongin and Sehun as well. They used to have a dance club of some sort when they were high-schoolers. A lot of Sokcho youngsters were part of it, Jung Ilhoon, Mimi, Choi Jinri, and so on... They were very dedicated and had fun but if you ask me, it was quite silly. I've never told my Soojung but I'm glad they stopped. It was doing more harm than good- Oh, I'm getting off track. What I want to say is, don't you think Seulgi and Sehun could go out?" 

So, I'm not the only one who noticed, Joohyun thought with a smirk. 

"I don't know. They look good together." 

"They do, don't they? They have some height difference but that's never a problem." Mrs. Jung said then right after that she chuckled. "I'm being meddlesome. Is it too late to say I swear I'm not a gossipmonger?" 

Joohyun chuckled with her. 

"No, it's not. It just shows you care about him a lot." 

"But I would never force them together. It has to happen naturally... After all, Sehun hates when people are being meddlesome." 

"Oh really?" 

Joohyun mentally facepalmed.

ღ

The Kim brothers arrived back a little after noon. 

Joohyun was putting the utensils down when Sehun stepped in. He was dressed very flamboyantly – and lightly. The girl doubted it's a good idea to roam around in a jacket with nothing but a shirt under it right after someone with asthma was down with cold. 

"Hi." 

"Hi. Auntie?" 

"In the backyard." 

"Thanks." 

And with that Sehun was already gone.

Joohyun took the pan off the stove with a sigh. 

"Why the long face, beautiful?" A pleasant voice rang in her ear. Junmyeon wore a suit jacket with jeans and he looked so handsome, Joohyun forgot for a second, she's supposed to be disappointed with him. "Joohyun-a." 

"Let's eat." She said instead and reached to untie the apron but for her surprise Junmyeon was already doing it. 

"You look so domestic in an apron." 

Joohyun couldn't help on her snicker. 

"Was this supposed to be a compliment?" 

"Yes. Didn't it sound like one?" Junmyeon gave his girlfriend a back hug and nuzzled her neck before pressing a light kiss to it. "I hope you didn't do it alone." 

"It was Mrs. Jung who did most of it. I just helped by." 

"That's very nice of you. Thank you." 

Joohyun leaned back in the embrace with a fluttering heart. When his boyfriend was being cuddly like this, she couldn't help but melt a little. 

They sat down to eat, in two, because right before they could start, Mrs. Jung came in and announced that Sehun is eating out on the porch. Junmyeon argued that it's rude and he should come in but the older woman asked for their understanding and told she's keeping an eye on him, just in case. 

"This kid is unbelievable." Junmyeon murmured after putting some kimchi next to his rice. "He was in a good mood on the trip. Why is he acting like this?" 

"Maybe exactly that's why. You were in the car for hours. He might want to be alone." 

"Mrs. Jung is eating outside with him. He's not alone." 

Joohyun sent a look to her boyfriend from above her plate. 

"Do you want to me to say it?" 

Junmyeon caught on quickly. 

"What? No. It's not that he's eating apart because of you." He picked up a bit of squid and wrapping it in lettuce reached it out towards the girl in front of him. 

Joohyun pushed the bite back with her chopsticks lightly. 

"Stop lying to me, oppa." 

It's not how she wanted it to go but after seeing Junmyeon still trying to feed her lies, Joohyun couldn't help but ask. 

Junmyeon ate the bite, his expression solid. 

"I'm not lying to you." 

"Yeah, maybe that was harsh. But you don't tell me everything either." 

"You want me to tell you everything?" 

"No, just- just when you tell me something, tell me that something as it is." Joohyun said frustrated. She wasn't just bad at arguing, she hated it too. "For example, you could've told me you go to Seoul for work not to Chuncheon." 

"You would've worried. Unnecessarily, on top of it." 

"Unnecessarily? Seoul is at least a six-hour drive a day." 

"It is but you don't have to worry about it because this is something I took it upon myself voluntarily." Junmyeon explained, his voice calm but his eyes intense. 

Joohyun looked down at table. 

"It would have been easier for you if we stayed in Seoul." 

The house in Sokcho was a holiday home Mr. Kim gifted her wife with for their first wedding anniversary. They've had a regular home in Seoul, in a modern townhouse which for the time being was empty. 

Junmyeon reached over to take hold of Joohyun's hand resting on the table. 

"It's temporary. I didn't want to tell you about it yet because I need more time but since we're having this conversation... I'm currently expanding the office in Chuncheon and setting up one here, in Sokcho." 

"Are you like... branching out the business?" 

"Yes, exactly." Junmyeon started grinning which annoyed Joohyun a little. "Also, this way we can spend more time here. I like being here better and as I noticed so are you. About the Seoul apartment, I haven't decided yet. I either rent it out or sell it."

Joohyun drank a sip of water. She felt satisfied she's finally filled in but at the same time, the uncomfortable feeling in her gut remained.

"Thank you. I wish you would have told me earlier." 

"Would it have made a difference?" 

"Yes. I understand it's still in progress but... this just makes it seem to me like you're being secretive with me. And even more, like you keep me out of things to protect me and I don't like that." The girl looked up timidly. She didn't want to hurt his boyfriend but she wanted to let him know how she feels. "I want to be there for you too. Please let me." 

Junmyeon looked back at her without a word. Then he let out a sigh and grabbed his chopsticks again. 

"Let's eat." 

Joohyun bit her lip and pulled out her chair. It wasn't just a disappointing response, she felt ridiculed by. 

"I'm finished, thank you." 

"Joohyun-a, please." 

She didn't listen, just turned around and walked out of the dining room. 

The back of her eyes was burning, signaling she should just cry it out but Joohyun held her tears. It isn't worth a cry. They just have different opinions about something and for now they don't know what they should do to come to an agreement. 

Joohyun plopped down on an armchair in the living room. She needed some space and silence, to calm her nerves. 

"I don't know, auntie. She's so nosy." 

Sehun's voice came from outside – the door to the porch was creaked open. 

"She wants to be friends with you. And you can be so hard to approach, you should appreciate the effort" said another one, belonging to Mrs. Jung. 

"Why should we even be friends?" 

"Sehun-a." 

"I'm serious. We should just, get along, I guess." 

Joohyun stayed silent and listened. She shouldn't have eardrop, yes, but those two shouldn't talk about things like this out in the open if they don't want to be listened to, in the first place. 

"That's right." Mrs. Jung said, surprising the girl in the living room. "You're not obligated to be friends but you could get along. The thing is, what you're doing right now is nowhere close to 'getting along'." 

"Hyung is smitten. I won't sit next to them just to see them being all lovey-dovey." 

"Oh dear, you're just making up excuses, aren't you?" 

"No, I really don't want her to be around me. She's just so... I can't explain it. And I don't want to. We're better apart." 

"Well, I don't know what you think she is like but I know you're stubborn and you're not only hurting her but your brother as well." 

"They have each other. I'm not worried." 

Joohyun stood up and went upstairs. She deemed she heard enough. 

ღ

"Good afternoon Ms. Bae, 

Thank you for signing the papers and sending them us quickly. As promised, we proceeded with your last payment. I'd like to thank you on behalf of our company for all the work you have done for us. We wish you similar success for the future and a good life in South Korea! 

Ps. If you need a reference letter or any other help related to work, please let me know, we all help you gladly." 

Joohyun stopped reminiscing about the e-mail she got yesterday with a sigh. End of an era, she thought bittersweetly. She counted with this after deciding on her trip. And yet here she was, feeling defeated and empty. Could it be Stephanie was right? She should have come back with a plan, shouldn't she have? 

But she really wanted to be here – that one and a half year only communicating with Junmyeon through phone calls, e-mails and postcards was horrible for Joohyun. Of course, as soon as he brought up the idea of moving in together, she agreed. Joohyun blushed. She felt a bit embarrassed at how dependent and foolish she was. But she fell in love. Love so deep and precious, she was pretty much blind to everything else... basic things, like getting by, included. 

And the worst part? She had no regrets. 

"Joohyun-a, can we talk?" 

"Yes, we can." 

Junmyeon sat down next to her. He carried his gaze around their surroundings. 

"I almost gave up looking for you. I never expected you to come here. There's nothing in here." 

Joohyun discovered the abandoned greenhouse around three days in. It was impossible not to miss, but since nobody ever mentioned it, she didn't think it's worth to visit. However, as she spent more and more time alone and the house became less and less interesting, she went to look for something new and before she realized, she was pressing the handle of the full glass door leading inside the greenhouse. 

To say there was nothing there, is debatable. True to be told no flowers, fruits or vegetables grew inside but there was an abundant amount of weed, moss and evergreen littering the surfaces. The only more or less free space was left right in the middle, a neglected fountain out of marble, its water bottle green and not as translucent as it was supposed to be. Joohyun and Junmyeon sat on the edge of it. 

"Sorry. I should have left a note or something." 

"Why, you didn't want to be found, that's why you came here." 

"That's not true. I needed some space but I wanted you to find me." A small smile crept up to Joohyun's face as she glanced at her boyfriend. "I just made the search a little harder for you." 

Junmyeon chuckled and put an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. 

"I deserved it, didn't I?" 

"We both did. I thought about it, and I was demanding. Of course, I'm concerned about you but I only thought of my reasons, didn't try to understand yours." Joohyun explained. "And I feel bad I left you at the table, that was rude."

"You don't have to apologize. I think I'm owing you one." 

"Don't try to turn this around." 

"You're trying to turn this around. Not me." Junmyeon opposed gently, his finger caressing patterns onto Joohyun's shoulder. " You were just upset and felt left out. On the other hand, I wasn't honest with you. And instead of telling you this, I shrugged it off. I'm sorry. Just... In order to achieve what I want, I feel like I have to focus on the way I can achieve them entirely. Otherwise I'll never get there. My mom used to call me out for that all the time. "Myeon-a, if you keep thinking of the future, you forget to live in the present." And I still never get the memo." 

Joohyun leaned her head on his shoulder with a small smile. She felt relieved they're finally having a real conversation, about important matters, without fighting. 

"I'd rather say, tomorrow needs you today." 

Junmyeon started chuckling. 

"That... doesn't make sense and sounds awfully right at the same time."

"Well, I'm not that smart so - Is it really that funny?" 

"Yes, haha." 

Joohyun wanted to be sulky but seeing her boyfriend laugh so openly and delightfully, only made her chuckle along. 

Junmyeon embraced her gently, his laugh dying down to a pleasant hum. 

"I love you." 

Joohyun closed her eyes with a palpitating heart. It was the first time Junmyeon said it since they reunited. It felt relieving and so-so sweet. 

"I love you too."

Author's Note

Hello everyone! I'm sorry if you were waiting so long for this update. I'm having some personal issues at the moment which affect my mood & writing ability greatly... but let's not get into it too much because it's sad and I don't want to make any of you sad. The point is, I brought you the new chapter! \o/ ... Which isn't too happy either what am I talking about orz Haha, honestly I don't think this chapter is sad, rather it brings in some more conflict & but it's up for you to decide how you feel about it. One thing for sure, please tell me about in a comment! I love reading comments, your opinion & suggestion matter to me. Also, I've thought the scenes can be told apart well with gaps but I got a suggestion to use dividers for easier undertanding and I went with it... and it turns out I used to use divider symbols in the past few chapters but forgot about them. orz I'm going to place some more so if you keep getting notifications because of it, I'm really sorry! ;-; Thank you for the, wow, almost 2000 views & 80 subscribers! I appreciate them so-so much. ❤️ See you next time!