December 17th, 2015

4:14 PM

The past

Linking arms, heavy coats, red noses, interested eyes, hungry stomachs—that was the recipe for the day. It was mid-winter in the city, the sun was slowly making it's way across the sky, attempting to warm up the chilled streets. Eunhye walked side-by-side with a goofy boy; his name was Jongin. By this time, the both of them had exchanged their kisses, said their ‘I love you’s’, and discovered each nook and cranny, whether that be mentally or physically. It was already known that she would stay with this man for the rest of her life. Each day was spent with him, each night was laid out on his bed, each morning awoken by his smile, every waking moment she was his, and him, hers.

“Chicken, chicken, chicken...” Jongin hungrily repeated over and over again, and Eunhye looked up to her boyfriend, letting a laugh dawn on her lips. The hesitant girl with shy eyes from the library was replaced with a confident woman.

“Jongin,” Eunhye punched him lightly, “We will be there soon enough.” Looping her arm in his, she rested her head on his shoulder. The air bit at the tip of her nose, leaving it red, but even through the cold, she felt warmth when she was with him; it was a warmth that came from her chest, sending exciting messages throughout her body. Jongin continued his mumbling until the both of them arrived at the restaurant. There it was, that same old chicken restaurant, it never got old. Tables were spaced tightly together, having plastic chairs placed around them, and the small business doned its makings on a small serving window. The whole aura was yellow: yellow walls, lighting, uniforms, chairs, everything, and the air was filled with, what else, the greasy smell of chicken. It was a familiar feeling being there; this place would always be Jongin and Eunhye’s hideout.

The two of them found a place to sit in the back, right next to the heater, and Eunhye did a little dance in delight, shedding her heavy coat. Sitting down, she tried to soak up the warmth. Rubbing her hands together and closing her eyes tightly, she acted as if she was a small child. Hearing a laugh come from across the table, she opened her eyes to see a smirk plastered on Jongin’s full lips. She rolled her eyes and continued to rub her hands together. “Don’t act like you aren't cold too,” she chuckled.

“You’re weird. The only reason I’m here with you is because you offered me chicken,” Jongin said playfully, wanting to warm up the mood and the surrounding area with his remark. He leaned back in his chair, running his hands through his black hair. Brown eyes stared back at Eunhye.

“Well, you are stuck with this weird girl. And, if you ask me, you should be the one paying for this meal. Isn’t that what a real man would do?” Eunhye cooed, letting her hands fall on the table.

“Damn, you are right. I’m stuck with this weird girl for the rest of my life. How was I so lucky?” Jongin bit back his laughter, letting his eyes bunch up. Before Eunhye could throw something back at him, the waiter showed up and placed the menus down. Jongin shook his head, giving them back. He wanted to order right away; his grumbling stomach was taking over. He looked over at Eunhye and asked, “Do you want a whole chicken? With beer?” She nodded, knowing that was Jongin’s favorite. In the time that they had dated, she learned that this kid lived off of the feathered beast, and she grew to live off of it also. The waiter took down the order and dashed away.

“Chicken, chicken, chicken...” Eunhye mocked Jongin., and he returned the words with a tongue sticking out of his mouth. “When we move in together, we are going to make meals at home every night. All of this chicken is going to kill us. We need an intervention, especially you,” she said, making a point with her finger.

Jongin shook his head, “We have to eat out at least once… no, twice a week. I can’t live without chicken...” he groaned, putting his hands between his legs and swaying side to side. “You can cook, but I can’t. I don’t want to destroy the kitchen. If you go down and we have no money left, we will have to live off of cereal and bitter coffee. And I’m not sure what I would do if you ended up leaving me, I’m sure I would become fat will all of the takeout.”

“It’s always chicken and cereal with you, and I’m not leaving. I can’t think of a single reason to leave you other than your bad chicken habits, and don’t even get me started with your friends. I swear Luhan and Kris are going to destroy you one day,” Eunhye shook her head, kicking him under the table.

“Don’t forget about the spaghetti. I like that too. Eunhye, if you leave me, I will end up destroying Luhan and Kris with all my whining, I am sure of that. So, you will have no other choice but to take me back for their sake,” Jongin added in, kicking her back. “I will keep you warm at night if you make me good food,”  he commented, leaning into the table and smirking like an idiot.

“You’re being cheesy, Kim Jongin.” Eunhye replied, backing away from the table. Jongin wanted to be closer to her, but she decided to play with him resulting in his frowning and making a fuss. He then brought his finger up to his lips and tapped them, wanting a kiss. She shook her head, trying to resist the urge to smile at his actions, and he started to whine louder, wanting the kiss even more than chicken. His fingers kept tapping his lips, and he got up, leaning over the table further, almost falling over it. She slid back in her chair, covering her face with her hands. “No!”

“Ummmm… your order is here.” Eunhye’s hands dropped from her face, and she looked over at the appearance of the waiter. He stood with the order in his hands and an awkward look on his face. The scene before him must have looked as greasy as the chicken he held. He rubbed the side of his neck, placing the food down. Jongin sat back in his chair, letting the arrival of the chicken blind his want for a kiss, and he dug in right away. She shook her head, feeling her cheeks get red due to the passing moment.

The meal was filled with endless streams of laughs and eye rolls: Jongin devoured the meal in no time, leaving his stomach full, and Eunhye trailed behind him, watching him with amusement on her lips.

“Jongin, I wanted to ask you something,” Eunhye said, eyeing up a piece of chicken before putting it down. Jongin had his hands on his stomach, leaning back in his chair with sleepy eyes. The plastic groaned with the amount of weight on it. He mumbled back, acknowledging her, “How… how are your parents? You haven’t talked much about them since the... incident.” The sleepy eyes were awake now. Jongin’s parents were a rare topic. Other than a little talk here and there, they weren’t something brought up often, and Eunhye hadn’t seen much of them as Jongin never brought them around or even included them in a conversation. Well, he choose to never be around them in the first place. Recently, they had gotten a divorce with his father heading up the mission, and Eunhye was worried about how Jongin was taking it. Bringing it up now wasn’t the best, but it was something on her mind.

“There isn’t much to say,” Jongin said. Eunhye could already sense that he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Maybe… we should bring an order of chicken to your father? Don’t they say the son is just like the father? I'm sure he would love-” she tried to get through the discussion, but was interrupted.

“I’m not like my father,” Jongin muttered quickly, playing with some leftover bones. Eunhye let the conversation end there, another time would have to do. There were parts of his life that he wanted to forget, she shouldn’t be bringing them up. Nodding and letting a cool silence transpire, she felt bad for making the good enviroment turn around. Leaning over the table, she quickly laid a kiss on his forehead, granting his wish from before. He looked up, letting his face lift back to its playful state. “Now you decide to kiss me,” he whimpered. Before he could get the real thing, Eunhye sat back down. Gentle brown eyes made contact and heat spread throughout the yellow chicken restaurant.

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Notes:

Thank you for reading so far! The story is all coming together quickly. I'm revising the whole story before I fully release it all, but it's coming along! I'm planning to start releasing the chapters weekly, or twice a week, but tell me what you think so far, your comments help greatly!