Chapter 3: A Day Off

The morning sunlight filtering from the window shone on Jonghyun’s face just as he woke up. He didn’t realize the time before someone knocks on his door. “Come in.” he said while yawning. Surprisingly, it was Mr. Choi who came in with a tray of food, specifically breakfast food which were scrambled eggs, two pieces of bread, sausage, and a cup of hot chocolate.

“Oh. Mr. Choi, let me carry it for you. Why did you bring your breakfast here though?” Jonghyun asked as he took the tray and placed it on the wooden table near his bed. Mr. Choi though chuckled quite loudly before patting Jonghyun on the back. “Oh my, this breakfast is for you boy. It’s already quite late in the morning already.” He told him while sitting down. The butler lifted his eyebrows when he heard it was already late. “Really? May I know what time is it?” he asked still a bit shocked. “It’s 8:46 am” Mr. Choi replied as he checked his watch.

Jonghyun immediately stood up, hurrying while looking for his uniform. “Jonghyun-ssi, please sit down and eat your breakfast first. We wouldn’t want you to be very tired today. Anyways, Sooyoung told me what happened last night. Please take your time to rest. I was actually the one who cooked all these.” Mr. Choi told him while handing Jonghyun the cup of hot chocolate. “Thank you very much sir.” Jonghyun thanked.

While watching Jonghyun take a sip of the drink, Mr. Choi then took out what seemed to be an envelope and gave it to the younger man. “Actually, never mind about work. Today will serve as your day off. That envelope contains your salary. And maybe I’ll tell our little brat to accompany you, she has no schedule. Enjoy your day.” He said once more chuckling before leaving. Jonghyun was actually really thankful to Mr. and Mrs. Choi. To him, they were the friendliest and most generous couple he’s ever met, which makes him wonder from time to time what ever happened to their daughter.

He chuckled again at the thought of Sooyoung. “Our little brat”. He almost choked on his bread as he remembered what Mr. Choi said earlier. After finishing his breakfast, he quickly took a shower and once he finished that, he went out his bathroom topless. Just as he was about to put on his orange long sleeved shirt, the door banged open. “Jonghyun! Where are you?!” Sooyoung almost screamed but she was left hanging as soon as she eyed the topless Jonghyun. While blushing she slammed the door closed and left Jonghyun’s mouth wide a gap.

He quickly put on his shirt and went to his mirror. “Aish!” he thought and he recalled what just happened. When he got out of his room, he immediately spotted Sooyoung sitting on the couch quietly. He notices what she was wearing. She wore a simple pink blouse with an orange cardigan, a cute ruffled skirt and a pair of fluffy boots. Before he could say anything, she beat him first to it.”Daddy said I had to go with you.” She told him while not having any eye contact. “Why don’t we go to the mall?” she said as they stepped out the house. “Sure, but can we go somewhere first? It’ll just be quick.” He asked.

Sooyoung actually didn’t want to make a big argument again so she just agreed. Fortunately for them, even though it was the middle of winter, no paparazzi disturbed them. They just walked and walked silently. None of the two actually said something until they arrived at what seems to be some kind of Western Union. “Hey, what are we doing here?” the girl asked. Jonghyun just smiled. “I just need to do something. Mind staying here? It’ll be quick, I promise.” He told Sooyoung, who patiently agreed to do so. Jonghyun then went inside the building.

Sooyoung sighed as she took a seat in a nearby bench. “What am I doing here…” she thought. It seemed like the break-up last night silenced her. She herself actually didn’t know why she agreed to go with Jonghyun in the first place other than it was a request from her father. After what seemed like almost half an hour, Jonghyun finally came out hurrying and catching his breath.

“Where were you?” Sooyoung asked annoyed. “I’ve been waiting for about thirty minutes now!” she scolded him. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just that… there were so many people. I didn’t.expect a lot.” He answered with pauses still trying to normalize his breathing. The girl just rolled her eyes. “Come on, if we don’t hurry, it might be the mall this time that’s gonna be filled with people.” She said as she surprisingly dragged Jonghyun.

Once they reached the mall, they immediately went inside the department store, specifically in the ladies’ department. The boy though only sighed as the stack of clothes he was holding was significantly piling up. “And here’s the last one!” Sooyoung said as she gave the last piece of clothing she was going to buy to Jonghyun, who believed it was already the 14^th item. 

After paying at the cashier, both of them stopped at the food court. "Hey, are you sure no one's going to find out it's you?" Jonghyun asked as he held the food tray. "Of course not. I've never been on tv or the news without make up so no one will recognize me now." she asnwered so confidently while they found a table and sat down. "But I'm still curious about one thing." she asked. Jonghyun swallowed the food in his mouth first before answering her. "What's that?" he asked back. "Just what were you doing at Western Union or whatever was that?" she questioned before biting into her cheeseburger. 

Jonghyun became silent at first but he decided to speak up before Sooyoung would sense something. "I just needed to send some money to my family back in Busan, that's all." he answered as he wiped his mouth before taking a sip of his soda. "Was it your salary?" she asked once more. She only got a quick nod from the boy before standing up and dragging him again.

In no time, they finally reached another store. "Calvin Klein" Jonghyun read silently the sign. He wondered why Sooyoung dragged them here since all he saw inside was full of men's clothing. "Come on now before I change my mind!" the girl shouted who already left him outside the store. He walked in being greeted by different scents of CK colonge which made him cringe a bit at the unfamiliar atmosphere. He was then brought back to sense as soon as he could feel a long sleeved polo being handed to him. "Here, I came to this store to buy a Christmas gift for dad, but since you're here too, I thought why not treat you too." she told him, although she was busy looking for other items.

The man was a bit surprised from her words and smirked. 'It's not everyday seeing her like this.' he thought to himself. "Well, then thank you very much Mistress." he thanked. Sooyoung tensed up a bit when she heard him but then just ignored the feeling. "Here, I think this will fit you." she said while showing him a blue long sleeved cardigan. Jonghyun was surprised at the price when he saw it. "Don't you think this is a bit expensive?" he asked nervously. Sooyoung just snorted when she heard his question. "Like I said, it's my treat. Don't worry about that." she said as they headed towards the cashier. 

But after it was already in the paper bag, Sooyoung suddenly took it away from him. "Since this is my christmas gift, you can't open it 'til then." she told him while sticking out her tongue. Jonghyun just gave her a crooked smile in response. "Thanks again though." he whispered but unfortunately she was too busy babbling about other things to hear it. 

A few hourse past and their, well, mostly Sooyoung's shopping was finished. "Hey I wanna walk home. It's been awhile since I've exercised.Let's walk by the Han River" Sooyoung suddenly told him excitedly. As always, Jonghyun just agreed and followed her, carrying most of the shopping bags. As soon as they reached the river, they decided to take a quick break and sat down on one of the benches. It was all silent until Jonghyun spoke. "Hey, I just wanted to thank you again for the treat earlier. It's not everyday I get to see you like this." he was able to mutter while looking at her. 

Sooyoung stayed quiet until she finally decided to give in and showed him a small smile, which, unbeknown to him, made Jonghyun a little red on his cheeks. "Well, yeah I do mean it as a Christmas gift. I.... I'm sorry if I'm a bit harsh to you. I think I'm just used to it. Is it alright for you?" she said softly. Jonghyun just nodded and gave her a thumbs up which made both of them slightly giggle. "And thanks too for accompanying me, even though it is your day off." she thanked as her eyes trailed to the Han River.

"It was no problem... Mistress." Jonghyun replied. Again, Sooyoung cringed and finally found out what was wrong. "You know what Jonghyun, you should start calling me by my name. 'Mistress' makes me feel old." she laughed a bit while saying this. "Uhh.. sure Mi-" before he could continue he recalled what she had just said. "Sure..Soo....Sooyoung." he managed to say. The girl smiled to know that she could already hear him say her own name, and she didn't know why. After a few more minutes, they finally were on their way back home again, feeling a bit light in their hearts.
 

~

Meanwhile, Mr. Choi just ended a meeting conference about the company. He took his glasses off as he rubbed his temples. "Ugh. Things aren't going well." he said to himself. "Sir, it seems like another of our stocks has decreased, if maybe-" the assistant was cut off by him. "Please... not now. I had enough of that. You can end your shift now." Mr. Choi told the man. "Y-yes sir." the man replied before hurrying out of the office. Mr. Choi then looked at what seemed like a letter infront of him.

♥.*.♥

Note: And cheers to Chapter three! Seems like Sooyoung is getting softer with Jonghyun :) Don't worry, the reason as to why they're like that will be revealed soon, most probably in the next update. And gosh, I wonder what's happening to Mr. Choi >< I'll also reveal it soon! But please do comment and subscribe for now! And just like Sooyoung's treat to Jonghyun, this update will serve as my christmas gift to you! Although I do want to update everyday, I'm not sure if I can on Xmas day itself ^^" Anyways, thank you for your wonderful comments and I am so very glad that you like this story and crackship! 

Merry Christmas Everyone!