Can someone please turn off the sun? 

The mixture of hardly any sleep and the blinding light shining through the window was definitely not a combination that Chorong was up for today. She groaned loudly and rolled over, thinking that she was tucked away in her comfortable bed, but was soon to realise that she was on the couch when she rolled right onto the floor and landed with an ‘oomph.’ She mumbled, “Ow” before pushing her face into the carpet. 

Another day, she mused as her mind wandered back to the events of last night. She tried her best to understand what was happening, she really did, but she just couldn’t accept it. There was no way that Nayoung and Joonmyun dating was a good idea and she knew that something was off about the entire thing. 

Nayoung was usually so smart; she’d graduated high school at the top of her class and was at law school. So how could she be so dumb when it came to boys and dating? It was so baffling and Chorong wished that she could just understand how this happened. It was supposed to just be a one night stand! 

“Are you comfy, dongsengie?” 

Chorong lifted her head up slightly and squinted her eyes towards her sister who was readying herself full of some great plans, she could only assume. She didn’t understand how Nayoung could be such a morning person while she was the complete opposite. 

“What time is it?” Chorong moaned as she leaned her head back against the floor in hopes of maybe falling back asleep. 

“It’s one-fifteen, Rongie. I was going to wake you up earlier, but you just look so exhausted that I thought I’d let you sleep.” Nayoung walked into the bathroom and started applying makeup that most likely would make her look like a clown, to Chorong at least, and hollered, “How late did you stay up? I came out for a drink and I could hear you grumbling about something at four this morning!” 

It was true, she was up late and she was stressing about the obvious. How was she going to carry out her plan for revenge against Joonmyun? She had his phone. She had something valuable that could possibly help her in achieving her goal for making his life miserable. 

At least … that was the plan. 

When she heard the news last night about Nayoung and Joonmyun’s new ‘relationship’ she was dead set on trying to take him down in any way possible. She just had a feeling that something was up and she wanted to make him pay for even thinking about going after her sister. But she wondered if that was just her emotions getting to her because of what Joonmyun had done to her personally. So could she really go through with that? She was afraid that if he pissed off enough then she might take it too far, but at the same time if she didn’t do anything at all she might now be able to protect Nayoung from this guy before things go bad. 

So what was she supposed to do? 

“Are you ever going to get up off the floor, loser?” Nayoung returned from the bathroom and quickly went through her purse to make sure she had everything. “I don’t want to come home later and find you in that same position, do you hear me?” 

“Where are you going?” Chorong shifted her eyes to look at her sister and sighed. “You’re not going out with Joonmyun tonight, are you?” 

“Actually no. The girls I met down at the beach invited me to go out for a while and then get some drinks. Though,” she grinned widely, looking extra cheeky, “I do hope to finish the night with my new boyfriend.” 

Boyfriend. 

Chorong hated hearing Nayoung say that, especially because of the certain boy she was supposedly dating now. She would have been happy for her sister dating anyone else in the world as long as it wasn’t Joonmyun. So why? And why wouldn’t she just listen to her for once and understand that Joonmyun was bad news? 

As Chorong’s thoughts were once again invaded by him, Nayoung pulled the door open and immediately stopped when a boy stood there with his arm raised as if he was about to knock. They shared a few quick words and she let him in, looking back to her sister with suggestive eyes. 

“Um, Rongie?” Nayoung’s voice was full of curiosity. “You have some company.” 

“What in the world are you talking abou—“ Chorong lifted her head once more, getting a bit frustrated with all the interruptions, but was quickly taken by surprise when she was the familiar boy with the tattoo standing there. “Oh! Jongsuk!” She jumped up quickly and straightened out her clothing, trying not to look like a complete dork that was jus trying on the floor - even though that’s exactly what she looked like.

Nayoung gave her a look as if to say ‘when-­I­-get-­back-­you-­better­-give-­me-­all-­the-­details’ before excusing herself to the both of them and leaving them alone. 

“Sorry about just barging in,” he broke the awkward silence when neither of them said anything. “It was really rude of me so if you want me to leave and come back later I can.” Jongsuk hitched his thumb over his shoulder and towards the door.

“No, no! It’s fine, really!” She smiled as she tried to pat her hair down, which was flying in all different directions, so that she wouldn’t look like a hobo. “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting you so early. I thought you had said four?” Her eyes trailed over to the clock above the TV that said 1:27. 

Jongsuk just ran a hand through his hair as his cheeks filled with blush, completely embarrassed. “I did and it was stupid of me to show up earlier than expected. I was just in the neighbourhood and I didn’t know if you were ready or not and I mean–I just–I thought maybe,” he finally sighed and stopped his rambling. “I’m really sorry. I’m an idiot so I’ll just go.” 

She grabbed his arm and laughed, stopping him from leaving. She couldn’t help but just grin at how adorable he looked while freaking out. It was something she wasn’t used to seeing in him since he always seemed to have it together when they met. Wait, did I just call him adorable? She shook away her thoughts and gave him a warm smile. “Can you just calm down, you goofball? I said it was fine.” 

“Really …?” He didn’t seem too sure. 

“Of course.” 

“You’re not just messing with me, are you?” 

“Jongsuk!” Chorong slapped his arm as the two of them shared a smile. “I really like spending time with you, okay? So I don’t care if you came early.” 

She didn’t even see it coming, but she was definitely taken by surprise when she found herself under Jongsuk’s grasp as he wrapped his arms around her quickly. He was … hugging her? It wasn’t unusual, of course; Chorong had been hugged many times. But for some reason she couldn’t help but feel something different when it was his arms around her. 

She felt her heart flutter as he pulled away quickly and looked at her with wide eyes, that same embarrassment crossing again. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me I guess I was just–” 

“Jongsuk–” she just grinned, “–It’s okay.” 

He just sighed in relief as he rubbed the back of his neck. She could still tell that he was a bit flushed and, once again, those same thoughts of how adorable he was crowded her mind. 

“Give me a few minutes and we can head out, okay?” He just nodded in response as she headed towards the bathroom, still a little lost in thoughts of Jongsuk. 

Of course he was adorable, sure, but he was also incredibly attractive. And both of those scared her just a little. She had never really considered herself good at communicating with boys, especially attractive ones, and she was terrified that if she kept thinking these things of her new friend that she would start having the same problems she always did. 

She couldn’t help but glance once in Jongsuk’s direction, looking him over as he took a seat on her couch, waiting for her to finish getting ready. But soon enough his eyes met hers and they were locked in one of the most intense moments she had ever experienced. 

It was like in one moment there stood Jongsuk, her new friend whom she barely knew but was hoping to get to being great friends, and the next he was this completely different person who was suddenly making her stomach feel like it was infested with butterflies. How in the world did that happen? 

She finally was able to tear her gaze away from him and she quickly hurried into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and leaning against it as she placed her hand against her chest. She had to calm down. He was still Jongsuk. Very attractive, yes, but ultimately still the same person he was each time they met. 

There was no way she was going to let this attraction get in the way of her finally finding someone she can trust and feel good around. Not happening. 

She quickly turned the water on and hopped in the shower, trying to finish as fast as she could so she wouldn’t leave Jongsuk by himself too long. She accomplished her mission and was out of there, wrapped in a towel, within ten minutes. The only thing she didn’t think of was the fact that she had to make a mad dash from the bathroom and towards her room while Jongsuk was sitting on the couch smack dab in the middle. 

She avoided any and all eye contact with Jongsuk as she stumbled her way past him and towards her room. 

“You’re reading The Great Gatsby?” 

“Huh?” Chorong sighed to herself and turned towards Jongsuk, holding the towel as tight as possible so she wouldn’t have a stupid moment and drop it in front of him. 

Jongsuk just grinned at her and held up her beat up copy of the book. “I didn’t mean to be nosy, but I saw it sitting here and couldn’t help myself but look over it. It’s one of my favourites.” 

Chorong blushed, feeling completely uncomfortable standing there in just a towel. “It’s one of mine too. Sorry, hold on one second.” She didn’t even give him the chance to reply as she dashed towards her room and she wasn’t quite sure, but she thought she heard him chuckling as she shut the door behind her. 

She let out a breath of relief as she dropped her towel and quickly grabbed her clothes from the drawer, tossing them on in a hurry. She pulled on a pair of sandals and was running a brush through her damp hair when she noticed Joonmyun’s cellphone