Parking Problems Pt. 2

    Michael glanced between the two of you for a few seconds. “Damn. This is some major tension…” Turning to you he saw how red your face was. Shifting his gaze to the new house guest he saw Jae staring at you in shock. “Do you guys...know each other?”

Jea seemed to have regained some composure as he was the first to answer. “I’m not entirely sure. She looks so much different when she’s not calling people names in a parking garage.”

You lifted your head to glare at the boy as Michael seemed to connect the dots.

“NO WAY! Y/N you’re out there yelling at strangers?” His face shifted from shock to his trademark trouble maker’s grin before he continued. “And here you had us thinking you were a nice girl. For shame, Y/N.”

“I am a nice girl! Well...nice enough.”

Jaehyung jabbed Michael in the side lightly before crossing his arms and stating, “She called me Steve Urkel.” He looked like he was trying not to smile which only irritated you more.

“Y/N! You called him Steve Urkel?! That’s not something a nice girl would do~ I raised you better than that.” Michael’s smile had his face nearly split in half. If there’s one thing that makes him happy it’s giving people . “Alright well, since you guys already know each other so well I’ll keep the introductions short. Jae, this is Y/N. She really is normally a cool enough person. Y’all are going to be neighbors here so maybe try to get along. You’re going to be sharing a bathroom too so work that out amongst yourselves. Uhmm...I think that’s it really.” Michael’s face twisted into a sneer once more. “You might wanna get your bags quickly. We’ve only just discovered that she has a bit of a temper.” You’d had enough of his so you quickly reached your hand out to smack at him but sadly he was faster. With the smile still on his face he dodged your swipe and quickly ran down the stairs to safety. “I swear I’m going to hurt you!” You hollered down the stairs after him as you leaned out of your door frame.

You heard snickering behind you and turned to your new neighbor. “Angry and violent.” the grin on his face might have been endearing if you didn’t already have the history you did. Sighing deeply you decided it was time to face this unfortunate encounter. “I am neither of those things, thank you very much. I am perfectly amicable most of the time. Here, come get your bags.” You walked back into your room with Jae following behind. You stopped walking and turned to him when you reached the center of the room.

“And I’m sorry I snapped at you. My dad has always been clumsy so it wasn’t right to snap at you like that. Well, to that extent at least. It was a move to block the spot so I wasn’t entirely--” You shook your head before starting again. “It doesn’t even matter. I’m sorry for making fun of your glasses and everything. That was definitely unnecessary.”

He looked at you with a small smile. “It’s alright. My fans make fun of them all the time so I’m used to it.”

“Your what?”

He laughed a little before waving his hand dismissively. “Nothing.”

He bent over to pick up the biggest of the bags and you watched as his face twisted and bunched up in thought. You could almost see the thoughts going through his head. First he shifted the largest suitcase so that he was holding this one under his arm, leaving his left hand free. Then he bent over again and pulled one of the smaller cases to his chest and then held it against his body and tucked this one under his arm on the other side. You couldn’t help but smile as he leaned over once more, careful to not drop the chests pressed in the space by his armpits, and grab the handles of the two remaining small cases. Watching him straighten back up you did your best to wipe the smile off your face. Which proved a nearly impossible task as he stood triumphantly with a huge smile on his face, clearly impressed with himself. His glasses were lopsided and nearly falling off his face and there were drops of sweat forming by his temples. “Aw yeah~” he murmured under his breath as he turned to waddle out of the room. You followed behind him, ready to grab any luggage that fell, to the door. As the goofy boy walked into the door frame you leaned over and reached around him to grab the door handle so you could close the door and end this all too eventful day. Before you had the chance to even finish the thought Jae stopped abruptly and turned back to you, nearly dropping one of the suitcases pressed against his chest. You quickly stepped forward and reached out to help him readjust the luggage. “Thank you.” you heard him grunt from the other side of the suitcase. Once it seemed as secure as it was going to be, you took a step back. He took a deep breath and looked at you. There was no silliness in his eyes now and it surprised you how accustomed you’d grown to his goofy antics in such a short time. He looked completely different now.

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry too. I felt really bad to send your dad off like that but the girl I was waiting for asked me to save her a spot. I should have moved. I’m really sorry that he fell and I hope he’s okay.” The seriousness on his face had you at a loss for words. The silence must have lasted longer than you thought or maybe he just misunderstood the face you were making because in a few seconds the solemn look he was giving you had slackened into one of absolute terror. “Oh my god... Did he die?!”

“What?!” You couldn’t help it and burst out laughing. Doubling over in stomach clutching laughter you looked up at the tall man standing in the door with tears in your eyes. He was staring at you for a second before he could no longer meet your eye out of embarrassment and stared off in another direction. His ears were bright red when you finally quieted down and stood straight again. You were doing your best to stifle the soft laughs that continued as you looked to his face. He was just definitely trying not to smile when he looked at you again.

“Are you done now? I was truly worried and you laugh? You really are the meanest girl I’ve ever met.” he stated in mock anger.

“I’m sorry but whose mind just jumps straight to death after a man slips on some ice? I told you he was limping not hemorrhaging.” You paused to wipe at the tears that wet your cheeks. “He’s fine though. Thanks for asking.”

“Well alright! That’s all you had to say! Now. If you’ll excuse me I have had a very trying day.” He narrowed his eyes at you before he continued, “I was harassed by some woman in a parking lot and then bullied in my own temporary home. Good day.” With one last fake glare he turned and walked down the hallway. Seeing him walk down the hallway carrying four suitcases was too cute and you could feel yourself smiling as he waddled down the hall. You made sure to watch him to make sure he got into his room without dropping the luggage before you turned back to your own room. As he reached his door he turned to you again, this time his smile was there for sure.

“Goodnight, Y/N. It was...nice?? to meet you I guess?” His head tilts to the side with the questioning tone of the question.

“Thank...you…?” If he was confused himself you were completely lost. I mean really. Is that even a compliment?

“Oh and also, that girl wasn’t my girlfriend. She’s my cousin.”

“Oh...okay. Sorry for that too then.”

He laughed a little before doing a little hop to readjust the suitcases still in his arms. In the shift he lost his grip on one and it nearly slipped out of his grasp. You took a step out to help before he cut you off, “I got it!” Meeting your eyes he smiled again. All top teeth and open mouth. It was a nice smile.

“Will you please go put those away before you drop them? You’re giving me chest pains.” You waved him towards his room and he chuckled again.

“Yeah alright. Goodnight again!

“Night.” You smiled again before heading back into your room. You were pretty much asleep before you could finish changing and hit the bed like a sack of bricks. It’s been a long day and you were exhausted but you still fell asleep with a smile on your face.

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The next morning when you shuffled your way into the kitchen it was already past noon and you were greeted by an additional cheery face. You’d kept waking up last night and ended up not having the best nights sleep. The unnecessarily chipper voices chimed out simultaneously, “Good Morning, Y/N!” “Morning, guys.” You grumbled as you drug your feet towards the fridge. On the way you saw Jae look to Michael quizzically and then gesture in your direction. Without even the decency to swallow his food before answering, Michael answered the unspoken question around a mouthful of cereal, “She’s not exactly a morning person. Or an early afternoon person. And she takes naps almost every afternoon so not an afternoon person either. Guess that makes her a woman of the night.” You sat down with the bag of bagels from the top of the fridge just in time to catch the last comment and Michael waggled his eyebrows in your direction. Laughing dryly you tore a piece of bagel off and threw it at his head. To your right, Jaehyung threw his hands in the air in mock exasperation, “Will the violence ever end?!” Michael dodged the flying bread bullet as he usually did and Jae laughed as Michael continued antagonizing you.

Krystal lowered her magazine to address the table. “Did Michael tell you guys about the party?”

“Party?” both you and Jae questioned.

“Oh yeah. We’re having a housewarming party tonight. To celebrate the new tenant.”

You looked over at Jae who looked just as confused as you were.

“But I don’t know anyone here? Who would I invite?”

Krystal snorted before picking up the magazine again. “That’s what I said but then I thought about whose idea it was. He’s just using your arrival as an excuse to get drunk.”

“You know Krystal I want to defend myself but you’re just too right.” The troublemaker whirled back toward the two of you and continued, “Don’t worry guys it’s just going to be us and two other people. A few beers and some drinking games. Completely harmless.”

“As if anything you have any part of is ever harmless…” you mumbled as you stood up. It was already 2 o’clock. “What time am I going to be expected to be back for this ‘harmless’ party?”

“Guests are coming at 8!” he told you with a spoon hanging out of his mouth. You headed to the door to get your shoes. Sitting on the landing at the bottom of the stairs, you looked up to see Jae and Krystal heading your way.

“Where are you heading so early in your day?” Jae asked you as the two stopped in front of the pile of shoes strewn around the front door.

“Gonna go to the store then run over to my parents house to see my dad.” You made sure to smile at Jae as you said the next line, “You see, he fell in the parking lot yesterday. Some people even thought he might die so it’s pretty serious.” Krystal looked confused for a second but before she could ask Jae rolled his eyes and spoke first, “Is this my life now? Being bullied and ridiculed for caring?”  Krystal tapped you on the shoulder, “Can I come with you? I have to grab some stuff from the store too.” You nodded to the pretty girl. “Sure, more the merrier, I guess.” Jae looked between the two of you and then back towards the kitchen to Michael. “You’re both going?” Krystal laughed at him and waved as we headed out the door. “Don’t worry we’ll be back before the party. He’s not that bad.” You turned as Krystal followed you out the door and waved to the awkward looking boy standing next to the shoes. “Bye.” He looked back to you and waved before he flinched at Michael’s voice calling him from the kitchen. You closed the door while he was distracted and headed for the car.

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The guests have been here for about an hour. Michael has been toasting to Jae for about an hour and a half now so Michael was pretty well done by this point but Jae didn’t seem nearly as gone as the older man. He must have been going easy on the new guy. Michael had certainly not allowed you the same courtesy. He handed you your 5th wine cooler. Mistake. You were a well renowned lightweight and if the chills in your stomach were any indicator you could probably stop drinking any time now. Stumbling your way through the house you sat on the landing of the stairs and observed the party. Michael and his friend, Brian, were standing around the kitchen table eating Krystal’s graham crackers. Judging by Michael’s shifty eyes and hushed tones Krystal was not aware that they were helping themselves to her favorite snacks. You scanned to the left and saw Krystal talking to the other party guest. You hadn’t caught her name but she seemed cool enough. You felt someone nudge you from behind and turned lazily to see a sneaker softly prodding your shoulder. Following the length of the leg attached to the sneaker your eyes eventually landed on Jae’s face. “Can I get by?”

You nodded slowly before you gathered your focus and tried to pull yourself up. Reaching up for the railing of the stairs you heaved yourself to your feet. You had exerted an unnecessary amount of strength in your attempt though and ended up launching yourself further forward than you meant to and you felt yourself stumble before Jae jerked a hand out to catch your arm.

“Woahh” he said as he helped you steady yourself.

You could only laugh as you smiled at the man staring at you in slight concern. “I’m good! I got it.” You softly lifted your arm out of his grasp. “See? Perfectly stable.”

He stared at you slightly swaying back and forth for a second. “Yeah… how about we go sit down so you don’t injure yourself? Sound good, ya lush?” He put his arm behind your shoulders and herded you towards the living room, careful to not actually touch you with his hand. When the pair of you made it to the living room you saw Krystal walking out of the kitchen scowling and clutching onto her nearly empty box of graham crackers. Michael made his way into the living room shortly after wiping crumbs off of his face. “Alright everybody. We’re going to start the games. Come and sit in a circle on the floor.” Jae lightly pushed you towards the forming circle and helped lower you to the floor before sitting cross legged to your left. You weren’t wasted or anything but you were definitely feeling good as you looked at everyone in the small circle. Brian sat down softly on your right. You shifted your gaze to look at his face and saw him smile at you and wave before sticking out his hand. “Hello! I’m Brian.” You took his hand in your own and shook it lightly before telling him your own name. The circle was formed and everyone had introduced themselves so everyone was soon looking at Michael waiting for instruction. He smiled at the gathered people and pulled a stack of cards out of his pocket. “We’re going to play and blow!” There were various groans heard throughout the circle but Michael simply pushed on. “The groans tell me everyone knows how to play?”

Jae raised his hand hesitantly. “I don’t. Is it a card game?”

You scoffed loudly and he turned to you. You shrugged and smiled at him. “I mean...kind of.”

He looked even more confused so you continued. “Party Boy over there is going to stick the card to his mouth and in air to hold it there. Then he’s got to pass it to the person next to him without dropping it. So, he’s got to blow instead of to make the transfer. Hence the name, ‘ and blow’. Oh and you can only use your mouths.” You raised your hands and waved them around a little. “No hands.”

Jae turned back to face forward and you think you saw him swallow hard before he tried to get up. Before he could even get off his knee Michael stopped him. “Jae! Sit down! Everyone has to play!” He sighed and sat back down in resignation.

You reached over and pat him on the knee. He looked to you and raised an eyebrow at your hand on his leg.
“Don’t worry about it too much. I’ve been playing this game since high school. As long as you don’t worry it won’t be that bad. Just a game.” You pulled your hand back to your lap and waited for Michael to start the game. Michael raised his voice to announce the start of the game and you watched as the card made it’s way around the circle. Michael passed the card to Krystal and Krystal passed the card to Brian. You watched as Brian turned towards you. You quickly leaned in and pressed your lips to the card and took a big breath in to keep it in place. You turned to your left to face Jae. His hair was ruffled messily and there was a definite shade of pink to his cheeks. Was he drunk? You had thought he stopped drinking a while ago. The closer you came to him the more worried he looked. You were about 3 inches from his face now and you stopped so he could come take the card. He hesitated before he slowly leaned in to you. He’s taking so long! You were running out of breath. Jaehyung closed his eyes before he crossed the last few centimeters between the two of you. And instead of the cool plastic of the card his lips crashed into something warm and soft. His eyes shot open and he froze. He was staring right into your eyes as everyone around you whooped and hollered. His eyes widened even more as he watched your eyes flutter closed as your lips readjusted and pressed against his with new pressure.  

Because in that moment it wasn’t just a game.