Chapter 8
Accidental Love
Areum's POV
"What are you doing here?" i asked, greatly astounded from seeing him here. How did he know i was here? Was he stalking me? Pffft, as if he'll ever take any interest in me.
"Err-Ummm, well.. i was hungry and... this place looks interesting." I eyed him curiously and i know he was getting uncomfortable by my gaze.
"Oh, okay... Well what would you like.. sir?" Although his my friend, i am still a waitress here after all and my shift has yet to end, so the right thing to do now is treat him just like how i would treat any other regular customer. I know it wasn't necessary but, work is still work, you know.
"Just a set of dumpling and iced tea."
"Right away sir." I spiritedly told him as i shot him a smile.
"Yah, stop being so formal, its weird." he admitted. I agree.. It really does feel weird, especially when i'm being formal with this bad boy. It just doesn't feel right.
"Well, it's my job Mr Kim. I'll be right back!"
Author's POV
Jongin waited patiently for his food, his eyes fixed on Areum's back as he watches her work, together with the guy that has been getting on his nerves for some reason. He was too busy glaring daggers at the guy and being jealous— although he claims he wasn't— that he didn't realize that his orders were being served. He looked up to Areum and smiled cheekily at her, then thanked her for the food that arrived in less than 10 minutes. Most of the restaurants his been to, always took up 15-30 minutes, and by the time it actually arrived, he was already bloated from the water that they served first, before anything else.
Areum returned his smile before making her way back to work, but he immediately stopped her by grabbing her left hand. Thump.. thump.. Her eyes travelled to the hand that was clutching on hers, then back to the owner.
"I'll stick around here until your shift ends. I'll take you home." he told her casually as his right hand reaches out for another dumpling.
"But i-" she didn't even get to finish her sentence when Jongin cut her off, aware of what she was going to say next.
"Hush, now get back to work." he let go of her hand, and continued munching down his meal. He wasn't even hungry at the beginning, but now his practically shoving each dumpling down his throat.
Areum reluctantly walk away, glancing back at Jongin once in awhile. Her shift doesn't end until late at night, around 10 and the fact that Jongin was gonna wait for her until night, just makes her feel really bad. She has been troubling him eversince the first day they met, and she couldn't afford to burden him even more. Its true that he has helped her alot for the past few days, but that's because he was willing to do so. It was a little strange, since he hasn't really associated with anybody for the past two years. From the first day, he has already took interest in her, when she tried befriending him when almost the whole school was trying to avoid him as much as possible.
A few hours later
"I guess he went home.." Areum told herself when she noticed that her friend was no longer there. As a result of her expectations, she was a little disappointed seeing that he had left earlier, when he easily told her he was gonna wait although her shift ended late. Never expect too much Areum..
Seeing how contented she was with her own thoughts, Sehun playfully head locked her, secretly hoping it would turn the corners of , into a smile. And indeed she did.
"Yah, let me go!" Using all her strength, she hit him on the chest, causing him to place his hands on his hurting chest dramatically.
You might be wondering, why are they so close? Well, they have actually been friends ever since they were as young as 5. They went to the same kindergaten back in Ulsan, but when he got older, he encountered some family issues, which is why he was left with no choice but to move to Seoul. The memory of her crying on the day he left was still so fresh on her mind. She remembered crying for nights from missing him too much. A little too much that she got a fever on that week itself. Can you imagine how close they are?
Also, he has been her pillar of strength and her happy pill, especially when her parents passed away. It was a rough period for her, but Sehun's presence made everything better for her. He did almost everything, just to see her smiling again. When he found out Areum was moving to Seoul, he was the happiest person alive, and everything got even better for the both of them when she was employed to work at the same restaurant as him. It was a piece of cake for her to get accepted there since Sehun's dad owns the restaurant.
After a few minutes of fooling around, they finally decided to lock down the place. Areum was just scanning the empty street as she waited for Sehun to lock the doors. It was dark and eerie that it gave off a horror feel, although there were lampposts lined up everywhere.
"You know, i'm so thankful you're-" she was about to express her gratitude and appreciation towards Sehun for being there with her despite it being so late, but she hardly got to say anything when she saw Jongin approaching her. I thought he went home...
"Annyeong Cho Areum." Jongin casually waved at her, grinning from ear to ear at the same time.
"Yo-you, i thought you left.." she spoke softly, still in disbelief. Her disappointment vanished instantly and she couldn't help feeling excited knowing that Jongin didn't actually left her and willingly came back just like he said he would.
"I told you i'll wait, didn't i? I was just wandering around to kill time.. Well, lets go." Just then, Sehun came to her side protectively, as if he sensed danger— in this case, the danger refers to Jongin himself. Jongin shifted his eyes from Areum to Sehun and noticing how tensed the atmosphere was, she introduced them to each other. From all the observing he did earlier on, he learnt alot about the latter, and also acknowledged that Sehun had romantic feelings for Areum. He won't even deny it, he was jealous to be perfectly honest.
"Sehun, this is my friend, Jongin. He seats beside me in class and Jongin this is my best friend, Sehun. His the son of the owner of this restaurant soooooo... you shouldn't really mess around with him." She joked, hoping to liven up the mood but instead of laughters, she only received glares from the both of them. Did i say something wrong?
"Alright, you're coming with me. It was nice meeting you Sehun-ssi." Jongin lied as he forced a smile. It really wasn't, he mentally told himself.
She wasn't even given a chance to bid him goodbye and was already dragged away by the bad boy. But before they could get any further, she glanced behind and waved at him enthusiastically. "See you tomorrow Sehun!! Takecare alright!" Jongin quickly turned her head to face the front, obviously not liking the way she interacts with him. She doesn't even say that to me.
"You like him?" he asked straightforwardly. He didn't care what she was gonna think already, he just needed to know her answer. You could say he was desperate for an answer.
Areum burst into laughters at the sudden question. Not once has she ever thought of Sehun in a romantic way. Although she can't hide the fact that her best friend was undeniably good looking and had the personality of her ideal type, she just couldn't see him more than a close friend. Little did she know how the latter feels about her.
She wiped her tears away and answered, "Oh you're so funny Jongin! No i do not like him. His just a really great friend that i don't ever want to lose." A sign of relief plastered on his face. After hearing the answer from her own mouth, he felt more confident, and hopeful.
"What were you even thinking? Perhaps, are you jealous?" She joked and playfully punched him lightly on his shoulders.
Yes i am, "Dream on, i was just curious."
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