Jiyeon’s POV:

That afternoon, after fetching Minsoo from the nursery, I finally got home at six. I did my homework on the couch while Minsoo played on the carpet. At seven, I fed him with the disgusting orange goo, which was by the way a baby food oh my god, and of course, I cooked ramen for myself. At nine, Minsoo was finally getting tired of crawling and playing around the carpet. And finally at ten, he fell asleep but I, on the other hand, was getting a bit uneasy. Why you ask? Because I still haven’t heard from Hongki.

I preoccupied myself by reading some of my lecture notes as I waited for him in my room. But at twelve, he wasn’t still home. I wanted to call him but now that I realized, I never got his number.

Well not that I’m worried worried of course, I just—I don’t know. I’ve heard he goes home late but I never imagined this kind of late, late for me is like nine in the evening. Hmmmp… whatever I better sleep.

Five minutes later, I finally drifted off to dreamland.

I suddenly awoke from a strange noise. I stirred and felt my way up to my phone resting on the nightstand. My screen lock says it was 1:48 am.

The strange noise came again but this time fully awakening me. I listened. It was coming from downstairs. When I heard I low grunt, I shivered and broke into a cold sweat as the realization that it might be a robber dawned in me. I’m freaking scared right now! What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?! Minsoo! Oh my god is he alright?!

I was about to lip my way to Minsoo’s room but I wasn’t going out without a weapon. I looked around the room. Notebook, pencils, pens, pillows, clothes, phone, books, lampshade—LAMPSHADE! So yeah, lampshade it is. I could smack the robber’s skull to smithereens with it.

Holding my lampshade like a total idiot, I crept my way to Minsoo’s room making sure that I didn’t make any noise. Relief gushed through my vessels as I watched Minsoo sleeping soundly in his crib.

As soon as I closed the door behind me, a loud clang made me jumped. It sounded like a pan falling on the floor. The robber’s in the kitchen?

I took a deep breath and slowly and quietly went down the stairs. My hands were gripping the lampshade tightly I felt like my blood wasn’t reaching my fingertips anymore. At the bottom of the stairs was the kitchen. I could see light coming from it.

Wait what? Why would a robber turn on the lights? That doesn’t make sense at all.

I was ready to run up to the culprit and smash his head off with the lamp on my hands when I finally saw his face.

I sighed, “Hongki.”

“Oh hey Jiyeon!” he looked up from the stove with a giddy smile.

“Are you drunk?”

He widely grinned, “Just a little.”

“What are you doing?” I approached him putting the lamp on the dining table on the process. I gawked as I finally noticed the mess he has made. Sieve, whisk, pans, pots, spatulas and biscuit cutters (biscuit cutters?) were sprawled all over the counter. He already had pot with water on the stove but he still haven’t turned it on.

“Trying to cook some ramen,” he exclaimed woozily, missing to drop the raw ramen noodles into the pot. I’m guessing it was the second time he missed the pot basing on the fact that noodle crumbs were all over the floor. 

I grunted and shoved him onto the bar stool, “I’ll make the ramen so just sit there and behave.”

“Okay ma’am,” he smiled like a kid.

I sighed in exasperation before turning to clean the mess on the floor. While boiling the noodles, I started putting back the kitchen tools in their proper places.

Hongki was silent the whole time. In curiosity, I looked over at him. His forehead was rested on the table and he was snoring. Figures. Only sleep could make him shut up.

“Hey,” I shook him several times before putting the food and a glass of juice in front of him. “Your highness, your food is ready.”

He grunted and slowly raised his head. His hair messily covered the red mark on his forehead. At the sight of the food, his eyes went wide and without further ado he was munching it all up.

“Hey slow down it’s hot.”

“It’s okay, I can’t really feel a thing right now,” he said in between his chew.

I sighed putting away the apron, “I’ll just be upstairs if you need anything.”

“Wait, eat with me. I don’t like eating alone,” he tugged my wrist making me jolt backwards. “Here common,” he encouraged as he shove the chopsticks in between by fingers. “Common common!”

“Okay. Okay, geez,” I rolled my eyes and sat on the stool beside him.

He was chewing and smiling from ear to ear as he watched me take a chopsticks-full of the ramen into my mouth. Feeling self-conscious all of a sudden, I averted my eyes.

“It’s good? It’s good right?” he wriggled his eyebrows smiling goofily.

“Of course it is, I made it,” I mumbled.

“Hmmm,” he shrugged carelessly and proceeded on eating.

I observe him in silence, absentmindedly drinking from the juice I served him. He looked like a hungry pig, how could girls fall for him? Gosh. Oh wait, I already fell for him once and—-once is enough.

“Do you always do this?” I asked out of trance.

He looked at me sideways with strings of noodles dangling from his mouth. “What?” as soon as he spoke, the strings dropped elsewhere but the pot.

“Ugh you’re disgusting,” I grimaced getting away as immediately as I could.

“Oops, sorry,” he capped his mouth sniggering. “What were you saying again?”

I sighed heavily moving my stool in a safe distance from him before he start shooting me with food covered with his disgusting saliva.

“I’m asking if you often go home this late at night.”

“Uh huh,” he nodded before shoving a kimchi into this mouth.

“You should stop you know,” I said playing with the glass cup.

He cocked his head pouting in confusion, “Why?” Now that I realize, what Yonghwa-oppa told us was true, that Hongki acts like a five year old kid when he’s drunk.

“Why? Are you worried?” he teased. I could see the twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

“No,” I said flatly but to be honest I didn’t know myself if I was. “I just—-I thought that what if something bad happens in the house and I needed you to save Minsoo while I kill the robber or murderer or something?”

“Isn’t that supposed to be the other way around? Ah well, this is a safe neighborhood so you don’t have to worry about that,” Hongki said amused.

“But still…”

“Alright alright. I promise it won’t happen again—-except on Fridays.”

“What about Fridays?”

“I have gigs on Fridays,” he answered slurping the last drop of the ramen in the pot.

“Oh, okay then except on Fridays but at least turn on your phone so I could call you or something.”

He chuckled, “Worry-wart. Do you even have my phone number?”

“Oh yeah, that, I don’t have.”

“Let’s exchange phone numbers tomorrow then,” Hongki said reaching for the already half-full glass of juice in my hand. “Its funny right?” he mused as he drunk.

“What’s funny?”

“That we didn’t even have the time to mourn for our siblings and here we are forced into a life that we didn’t ask for. I always use protection you know, but somehow I still ended up with a kid. I mean like what the ? I don’t even know how to take care of a fish and now a kid? Do you honestly think I could do this, I mean being Minsoo’s guardian?”

I snickered amused at his whining. “As long as we’re in this together I guess, we can do it. I mean we, not just you.”

Hongki gave me a grateful smile, which was like once in a blue moon, “I’m glad we are in this together then. Partners huh?” he shoved me playfully and held out his hand.

I rolled my eyes but took and shook it anyway, “Sure.”

There was a moment of silence—a comfortable one—before he spoke again.

“Well now that we’re partners and we’ve shared chopsticks and a glass of juice which is like indirect kiss,” he leaned forward bridging the gap between our face. I leaned back but his arm was anchored on the stool behind my back preventing me from moving my face further. He puckered his lips, “Maybe we could—“

SMACK!

I smashed my palm against his face. Adrenaline rush. “Jerk,” I wriggled up from the stool. “If you do that again not only my palm will smash your face but my freaking lampshade!”

Without looking back and grabbing my lampshade on the dining table on the process, I rushed to the stairs. My heart was racing and I was burning hot. That jerk! How dare him!

I could hear him guffawing downstairs making my blood boil to 201^oC.

I was about to slam my door shut when I heard him yell, “Thanks for the ramen geek! Sweet dreams!”

And then the weirdest thing happened, I found myself grinning.

Like whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

P.S. HAPPY HALLOWEEN GUYS! Thanks for the lovely comments <3