“Jia, get up! Mom wants you down for breakfast!” Jong In banged loudly on my door before shuffling away and down the stairs. I groaned into my pillow, rolling over onto my back when I remembered what happened last night and plopped back down into my bed, squealing. His warm hands on my shoulder as he whispered into my ear, I felt flower petals floating around my stomach. I bit my blanket to stop the strange sounds coming from my mouth when I rolled out of bed and onto my floor.

I pranced out of my bedroom, running my fingers through my hair, ready to see him at the breakfast table. The thought of seeing his tired face and swollen lips from a night’s sleep was more tempting than the breakfast itself. I rounded the corner into the dining room, seeing my mom, dad and Jong In already there, “Good morning, family!”

“Good morn—“ My mom looked up at me as I slid into my seat. Her brows furrowed and hand in mid air as she reached for a spoon, “Honey.”

I grabbed a banana from the basket and picked up a pancake before looking around at each member of family. My dad’s mouth was open but he immediately closed it when we met eyes. He hid behind the morning paper, while my mother reached for a napkin, “Did you not wash up last night?”

Jong In burst out laughing, spitting out some of his food that he’d just been chewing. His face was turning red as he laughed into the back of his hand.

“What?” I asked, fearfully, feeling my face as Jong In pointed at it.

“You look like that fat lady from Mulan,” He ran his fingers down his face, drawing out a mustache with his hand, “You will never be fit to be a bride!” He mocked, raising his voice to a higher pitch.

“Jong In!” Our mom threw a napkin at him when I turned to her and asked, “What is he talking about?”

I panicked, covering my mouth with my hand, not wanting Kyungsoo to see whatever was wrong with my face so early in the morning. Nothing felt out of the ordinary. Did I have a pimple or something?

“Did you forget to take your makeup off yesterday?” My mom asked wiping the corner of my eye, showing me the black marks.

“Crap.” I raced out of my seat and up the stairs, tripping on a few steps. My heart was racing as I half covered my face with my hands. How embarrassing would that have been if Kyungsoo saw me like this? I gasped and halted in front of the bathroom when I saw that it was occupied. The only other person… I turned my head to see Kyungsoo’s bedroom empty. I grabbed at my hair, using it as a cover, debating what I should do when I heard the bathroom door unlock and open. I turned my back and crouched a little as if that would shield myself from him.

“Jia?” Kyungsoo’s sleepy voice made me jump as I felt a warm steam tickle the back of my legs and neck. He’d taken a shower.

“Yeah?” I kept my back to him when I felt him brush against my arm.

“I thought you were your mom,” he laughed, rubbing his eyes cutely as he squinted at my down casted face, “I can’t see without my glasses.”

“Oh,” I backed into the bathroom, keeping my face from view, “well that’s not good.” But it was good.

“Yeah, well I’ll leave you to,” he motioned to the bathroom, “your doings. Sorry I took so long, I just needed a shower.”

I smiled, peering up at him to see his black hair matted down from the water. His cheeks rosy and while his skin looked dewy. My lower lip trempled as I slowly backed into the bathroom, “It’s okay.”

I shut the door. I finally got a look at my face and cringed at the sight. Mascara ran down either side of my eyes which were bloodshot, my eyeliner ran down under my eyes leaving dark shadows while my lipstick ran straight on either side of my lips. I took my makeup remover and rubbed furiously at my face before splashing it with water.

My face was half decent now, but it was super red from the harsh scrubbing. I leaned against the door and shut my eyes. I had to calm down. My heart needed to calm down. He didn’t see anything I reminded myself.

I took one last deep breath and opened the door when Kyungsoo stood there with his fist mid air. He had the cutest pair of glasses and a bashful smile that made me gasp.

“Oh,” he laughed, “I just needed to grab something. Are you finished?”

“Um, yeah. I’m done.” I side stepped him as he entered the bathroom and I exited, “I’ll see you at breakfast.”

I bowed to him, for whatever reason, before scurrying back down the stairs and into my seat.

*~*~*~*~*~*

“Taemin, just texted me. Mom would it be alright if he come over for dinner?” Jong In called from the living room while I helped our mom dry the dishes. Kyungsoo stood on the other side of me after offering to help put the dishes away.

My heart stopped as the plate in my hands fell loudly on the counter. Both my mom and Kyungsoo glanced in my direction, “Be careful, Jia. Um, yeah I guess that’s fine Jong In.”

“Cool!” Jong In turned back to the TV when I felt fingers crawl up my hand and stop at my fingers, “Hey you okay?”

Kyungsoo leaned down so I was the only one that could hear him. He squeezed my hand before grabbing the plate I dropped to put it away. “I’m fine. I just spaced out there for a second.”

 “Jia, would you come with me to buy some groceries. I need to figure out what I’m going to cook tonight.” My mom dried her hands on the kitchen towel.

“Yeah—“ I mindlessly replied as I dried the cup my mom handed me. I didn’t want to see Taemin again.

“Actually, I’d be happy to cook, Mrs. Kim.” Kyungsoo’s warm presence radiated behind me as he stole the cup in my hands, “I can take care of dinner for you.”

My heart stopped as I felt his chest press against my back for a brief second when the warmth left before I could even bask in it. I almost whimpered out loud when I felt my lower lip tremble and pout.

“That is if Jia comes to the store to help me,” Kyungsoo returned to my side, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, “You want to come with me?”

I couldn’t bring the words out and nodded, quietly as he lightly tapped under my chin. He took my breath out of my open mouth. I had to double over the counter for support when I felt my knees begin to shake.

“Well that’s nice of you, Kyungsoo, but Jia,” my mom paused, eyeing me, “she isn’t much of a cook.”

“Mom.” I hissed at her, hiding my face behind my hair when I heard her laugh.

“It’s fine. I know Jong In won’t come with me and I need some help.” Kyungsoo gazed down at me, his eyes so soft and warm I could feel myself drowning in them. Everywhere on and in my body felt warm under his sultry stare. God, I thought, if only my mom wasn’t in the room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*

And that’s how I found myself pushing a shopping cart around a crowded supermarket with old ladies and families surrounding me as Kyungsoo walked ahead to get his supplies and food for tonight’s dinner. A little boy cried his eyes out as his dad snatched the box of cookies he was holding and put it back on the shelf, an older woman was bickering with her husband over which brand of noodles to buy while the store workers took up most of the aisle stacking new canned goods.

“Jia,” Kyungsoo looked back at where I was blocked in. I shrugged at him, there was no way out. He sighed, pushing up his glasses and running a hand through his fluffy hair that fell back down over his forehead, before weaving his around the crowd back to me.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you weren’t behind me.” He took the cart from me and took my hand so he could thread my arm around his, “Just stay by my side.”

I couldn’t take this. My heart was so weak and he was perfect. Did he know his powers? Did he know what he did to me? I felt my head lean in towards his sturdy arm, hidden underneath his cotton sweater that felt soft on my skin. He must’ve felt the added pressure because he laughed quietly underneath his breath that smelled like peppermint, “Tired already?”

“No, you’re just nice to hold on to.” I admitted, having no shame in the fact he did feel nice and I didn’t want to let go.

“Alright,” He smiled as he led the way to the meat section when both of us stopped at the overwhelming smell of beef. There in front of us was a line of free sample tables all filled with older ladies cooking meats of all sorts.  My stomach immediately emptied itself at the tantalizing smell when I let go of Kyungsoo and made my way to the first table.

The older lady smiled at me and motioned me to take a sample of the pork belly. It was glistening under the hot light with burnt marks from the grill. I popped one in my mouth and felt the fat immediately melt on my tongue while the oil spread in all corners of my mouth. “Kyungsoo, try this.”

He came over and took his own sample. I watched him chew carefully as if testing its taste, analyzing each bite, “It’s good.”

“Right?” I threw away my napkin and toothpick when I felt Kyungsoo’s hand latch onto mine.

 “Stay with me,” he said as he threw his toothpick away. He thanked the lady before moving us to the next vendor.

“Kyungsoo?” My cheeks were on fire and the sounds around us began to blur into one quiet buzz. He didn’t look at me but I saw his lips curl up in amusement, “Can’t I hold your hand?”

I could feel his hand loosen as he tried to break away but I didn’t let him. I kept my hold on his hand firm as I stared at his tennis shoes. Was this really happening? And in the middle of a crowded grocery store no less.

“Are you going to move?” An older man’s gruff voice broke through the daze-like trance around us and all of a sudden each harsh sound became its own entity. I could hear the baby wailing, the cashiers yelling, the people talking.

“Sorry.” I mumbled, bowing at the old man as I pushed the cart out of the way and farther from Kyungsoo. He sighed, taking a step towards me when I took a slight step back, “We should finish shopping and head home.”

I had panicked and backed down from the bubbling feelings. I even took my hand out of Kyungsoo’s, tucking them under my arms as I walked ahead of him so he wouldn’t see my growing embarrassment.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The gif has nothing to do with the fanfic but I loved that scene from You're Beautiful

The story is almost finished ^^