(just a reminder that I switched tenses so that it’s easier for me to write lol )

She hung up the phone and leaned back on the couch and sighed heavily. Her talks with Jacob were always so heartbreaking. She had never spent more than a night or two away from him since he was born and she here she was, 6 months of nothing but phone calls and video chats to tide her over. Her dinner had gone uneaten on the coffee table and the tea was long cold. She got up to go see what else she could find to eat when her phone went off. She grabbed it as she headed to the kitchen and checked the message. She didn’t recognize the number.

Have you had dinner yet?

She replied, “who is this?” and dug through the cabinets for the last package of ramen she had gotten last time she shopped. Her phone went off again and it was a picture message. She opened it and almost dropped her phone. JunJin’s face looked back at her and he had a huge grin on his face.

I texted myself from your phone when we had coffee today, I hope that’s okay?

She tried to come up with something witty to say back but she took too long and he sent another message.

J: So have you had dinner or not? :)

She sat down at her kitchen table to answer him.

C: Nope just got done talking to Jacob. I was gonna have toast and yogurt but it doesn’t sound good anymore.

She bit her lip and waited for an answer.

J: I haven’t either…… wanna eat with me?

She stared at his words and typed quickly.

C: Are you asking me out to dinner, Park Choongjae?

She looked at what she had on, perfect clothes for a night in and she didn’t feel like changing again.

J: or we can eat in. I’m still at the studio, just finished practicing. I can grab something and come by

“Oh my god!”, she shrieked and got up and looked around her apartment. She hadn’t cleaned house after work and the place looked, to put it lightly, lived in. She ran around and started to pick things up and put them away. Her chair was covered with laundry that had been folded but not put away so she grabbed the stacks and took them to the bedroom and hurriedly put them away. She even made her bed, not like he was going to see it anyway but she knew it would bother her if she didn’t. She popped her head into the room that would be Jacob’s and looked around. She had been getting things for it as soon as she got to Seoul and it was pretty much ready. She ran to the bathroom and looked in the mirror and decided that she didn’t need any makeup but she fixed her hair so that it didn’t look too crazy. She went back to the living room and grabbed her phone.

J: so is that a yes? I just got to the restaurant. Is japchae and kimbap okay?

J: where did you go?

C: I just had to pick up the apartment. And yes that is perfect.

J: great, I’ll stop and get something to drink. What’s your address?

She threw herself on the couch and with tingling fingers she typed her address and hit send.

J: great, see you soon Charlotte

She the tv and tried to watch the news while she waited but it was just a blur in her nervousness.

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He pulled up in front of the address she had given him and looked around at the street. It was fairly deserted but just to be safe he slipped on a face mask before he grabbed the food and drinks and got out of the car and walked up the steps. He pushed the buzzer marked with her name on the front of the building and made sure to look into the camera so she would know it was him.

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

The sound startled her and she ran to look at the monitor beside her door. Even with the face mask on, she knew it was him and pushed the button that would let him in the main door. She went to get a couple of plates and some chopsticks out of the kitchen and set the table while she waited. A knock on the door meant he had arrived and she took a couple of deep breaths and exhaled slowly before she walked over to let him in. He stood there, a bag in each hand and even though she couldn’t see his mouth, she could tell by his eyes he had a grin on his face.

“Hi”, she said nervously and stepped aside so he could come in then shut the door behind him after she peeked out to see if any of her neighbors were in the hall.

He looked around the apartment before he set to the food on the table.

“Thanks for bringing dinner over”,she said quietly and went to sit down and looked at him.

“So now you’re going to be all shy and quiet”, he said with a chuckle and sat in the chair beside her and started to pull the food out of the bags.

She grabbed one of the containers and opened it, the smell of japchae filled her nose and she started to fix their plates.

“It’s not that, I’m just a little nervous. I’ve never had an idol in my apartment before”,she said with a soft laugh and looked at him, “Aren’t you a little nervous too? What if someone saw you coming here?”

He pulled his face mask off and tucked it into his jacket pocket, “don’t worry about that, I looked around to see if anyone saw me.” He watched with amusement as she made sure they both had the same amount of noodles on their plates and that the kimbap had been divided evenly.

“Yep, you’re definetely a mom”, he said and she looked at him confused.

“Always taking care of others and making sure everyone gets the same amount”, he said and reached for a pair of chopsticks.

She shrugged, “I’m the youngest of three kids. I never got as much as my siblings so now I make sure to keep everything equal. It’s all about sharing. So what did you bring to drink?”, she looked at the bag with the drinks.

“I got some Coke, juice and a couple of beers in case you needed something stronger”, he pulled the drinks out and set them on the table so she could pick. After a moments hesitation she picked a can of beer and popped it open and took a sip.

“I really am glad you asked if I’d eaten. I was looking for a package of ramen that I didn’t really want to eat when you texted me”, she started to eat her japchae carefully so she didn’t look sloppy in front of him.

“It more fun to eat with someone than by yourself so I thought I’d see if you had eaten yet, since I was in your neighborhood still”, he picked up a piece of the kimbap, dipped it into the sauce and popped it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed before he spoke again.

“So how did the call with Jacob go?’, he asked her and saw her eyes get shiny.

“It’s always rough”, she said said and played with her chopsticks against the edge of the plate, “I can’t wait for him to get here. It’s just a few more weeks”, she brightened a little.

“Would you have brought him if you had been able to?”, he asked and grabbed the other beer and opened it and took a sip.

Absolutely. But I had to deal with custody stuff before I could bring him”, she started