Jongin was already fixed up, in a clean white shirt and khaki pants, hair combed back, physically prepared for his meeting at the company today. But his brain and the entirety of his mental side was completely elsewhere.

It's almost 8, she isn't home yet.   Where is she?   Did she go home with Luhan?   God, I'm gonna murder that --   What are you saying, Jongin--   You're nothing.   The two of you are nothing.   Jongin gave his forehead a light slap, and shook his head as an attempt to clear up his thoughts but still unable to forget everything Seulgi said a few hours before. He took another sip from his mug of coffee and decided to just pay all his attention to his breakfast, seated on one of the stools by the island.   Jongin's head shot up as he heard the fumbling of the door knob on the other side. The first one who entered was Irene, already in fresh clothes immediately followed by Seulgi, her arm dangling on Irene's shoulder, being extra careful with her right leg, the mark more visible now under the daylight. She was still in her dress from last night, barefooted with her heels in hand, hair sweeped to one side with the waves already slightly toned down.   "Thanks, Joohyun." Seulgi said, calling Irene by her birth name, as she let her arm fall off of her best friend's shoulder. "I owe you one."   "You sure you good now?" Irene asked. "You just fell asleep the moment I lay you on my bed last night, we didn't even get to talk anymore." Upon hearing this, Jongin let out a heavy internal sigh of relief. So she wasn't with Luhan, he realized.   "Yeah." Seulgi answered. "You've done more than enough."   "Alright." Irene nodded back, stretching out one arm to give Seulgi a light hug. "Just call if you need anything else."   Seulgi nodded, hugging her back as she turned to face the door.   "Bye," Irene said with a wave and turned her head to face Jongin as she stepped out and closed the door behind her. "Bye, Jongin."    And it was just Jongin and Seulgi again.   Seulgi took her time before she turned around after she locked the door from the inside, heels still in hand, actually aware of how she let things end with her and Jongin last night despite the sharp thumping in her head coming from her hangover.   They were just deliberately avoiding each other's gazes for awhile once she did turn around until Jongin gathered up the courage to cut the silence. "Hey, uh." He cleared his throat. "You want some coffee? Just made a fresh pot."   "Yes, please." Seulgi replied, dropping her heels on the floor as she slowly took a seat on one of the stools, cautious of her leg and as Jongin ran up to grab her a mug and fill it up with the coffee he just made.   Jongin gently passed the mug to Seulgi on the island as he took a seat again and grabbed a piece of toast from his plate, offering it to Seulgi too. "You want something to eat, too?"   "No, thank you." Seulgi instantly answered, placing a hand on her stomach, sure that any food she consumed would probably just want to get out again.   "Right." Jongin awkwardly chuckled, remembering she was under a hangover. "Sorry, I'll get you some aspirin instead--" Jongin suggested, already rising up on his chair again.   "No, Jongin." Seulgi cut him off. "Just-- don't. Take a seat." She sighed.   Jongin followed, staring at her blankly.   "You don't have to be nice to me," Seulgi said, voice firm but obviously full of guilt. "I don't remember a lot from last night, but I do remember how much of a I was to you."   Jongin shook his head. "It's okay, Seul--"   "No, no. It's not okay." Seulgi argued. "All you've done is deal with my crap, and all I've done is be rude and ungrateful-- last night, I was rude and ungrateful."   "And drunk." Jongin pointed out.   "A little." Seulgi agreed. "But that's still not a valid excuse to treat you the way I did. You didn't deserve any of it."   Jongin remained silent, just listening and feeling rather baffled by Seulgi's apologetic words.   "For what it's worth," Seulgi muttered softly. "I appreciate all your kindness. I'm sorry I don't say or show it much-- but I do appreciate it-- I just-- don't know how to express my emotions and ."   Jongin burst out laughing in the middle of the seriousness.   "You moron, why are you laughing??" An un-amused Seulgi asked, slapping his arm repeatedly from across the island. "Stop it!!"   "Nothing, uh... just the expressing your emotions and thing?" Jongin said, turning down the laughter to a small chuckle. "You did it pretty okay. I appreciate the effort," He said with a grin. "Apology accepted."   Seulgi chuckled along with him. "Thanks."   "And for what it's worth," Jongin muttered. "You dont have to be nice to me for me to be nice to you."   A smile formed on Seulgi's face.   "I mean, I've been doing it for the past two years." Jongin gave her a playful wink, making Seulgi cringe and slap him one more time.   "I am sorry though," Seulgi repeated. "I didn't mean what I said-- any of it." She added, hoping Jongin would understand the message. We are friends, Seulgi thought internally taking back what she said the night before.   "Alright." Jongin nodded, thankfully understanding what she meant and casually moved onto another topic to get rid of the awkwardness as he chewed on the last bit of toast on his plate. "So, what will you be up to today?"   "Honestly," Seulgi said taking a sip from her coffee, cracking her neck as she slowly stood up. "All I want is to take a bath and crash for the rest of the day afterwards. I'm exhausted."   "Good." Jongin said, with a soft smile. "I mean, you need it." He added, referring to her leg.   Seulgi finished what was left of her coffee. "And you?"   "I have a meeting today, remember?" Jongin reminded her, pointing to how he was dressed.   "Right, explains why you--" Seulgi cut herself off, about to say good or dapper but careful not to give him another compliment, as flashbacks from last night passed through her sober mind. "--why you look decent."   Jongin chuckled, hearing Seulgi speak to him using her normal word choices again. "Yeah, well. That's it, I'm assuming it wouldn't take long so I might as well just go home after."   "Alright, then." Seulgi nodded as she picked up her heels and cautiously started walking towards the staircase. "Oh, wait." She shrugged off Jongin's coat, still hanging on her shoulders. "Here." She handed it to him.   "Thanks." Jongin said, taking it and smiling again.   She smiled back and started walking again, Jongin just kept watching her from where he was standing. She paused right in front of the stairs, carefully raising her injured leg.   "Need help?" Jongin offered, dropping his mug and plate in the sink to be washed.    "It's fine." Seulgi declined out of pride. She was never one to verbally ask for help, and Jongin knew this so he left his dishes, dropped the coat on one of the stools and instantly rushed to where she was, laying a hand on her back and another just below her arm. "You really don't have to--" Seulgi started to argue, even if she really did need help. Her head was spinning, her entire system was pounding with pain from the hangover, and her leg injury didn't make anything else easier.   "Another thing," Jongin pointed out, pulling her up one step. "You don't have to ask for me to help you."   The corner of Seulgi's lips curled up again as if literally pulled by Jongin's words as they made their way slowly up the staircase. Upon reaching the second floor, Jongin pushed the door of her room open with one hand, and allowed her to go in first as he let her go.   "Thanks." Seulgi said, immediately propping down on the edge of her bed, dropping her heels on the floor and her phone that was in the front pocket of her dress on her bed.   "Need anything else?" Jongin asked, leaning against the door's frame.   "No--"   "Of course, you were gonna say no." Jongin chuckled. "Why don't you go take a quick shower while I make your necessities a little more accesible?" He suggested. "Since you can't exactly go down the stairs any faster than a century while I'm not around."   Before Seulgi could protest, Jongin was already rushing down the stairs so she just carefully walked to the bathroom to take a shower as suggested.   ---   She walked out of the bathroom now in fresh clothing, back in one of her favorite baggy shirts and silk boxers, shaking her dripping wet hair against a small towel and instantly saw Jongin arranging what looked like food on the common area's coffee table.   Jongin's head shot up once he saw her, "Oh hey, you're done." He stood up straight now. "So, here are a few of my leftovers from this week while you weren't home, since I usually ordered for two not knowing when you'd be back, so lucky for you-- there are numerous options. And I chose the ones that still taste decent even if cold so, you don't have to go heat them up downstairs. Also, here's a bunch of pills-- painkillers and aspirin and what not, to help you recover a lot quicker. If you want or need anything else like water or something, feel free to rummage through the mini fridge in my room. A brand new tub of your favorite ice cream's in there too! And, uh..." Jongin explained thoroughly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. I guess that's it."   Seulgi froze, trying to absorb not all he just blabbed, but at how kind he was still being. "Thank you, Jongin." She mumbled softly, out of words as she scanned through all he laid out on the table. "Aren't you gonna b