Chapter 1.5

A/N: The italic words in brown is a flashback

Woobin opened up his apartment door and welcomed by a girl with a messy curly hair and oily face while holding a stack of beers in one of her hand and a bunch of snacks in the other.

“Seriously, Jay?” Woobin asked while taking the beers.

“Why?”

“Drinking in the middle of the day?”

“Why not?” Jay beamed happily as she entered Woobin’s apartment.

“Are you planning to get drunk? Why did you buy so many?”

“Psst… Kim Woobin. Stop asking so many questions, you giant!” Jay hissed softly before she sat on the couch, following Woobin who has already sat there.

“Kim Woobin? You can at least address me properly. Why you always forget to call me ‘Woobin oppa’ and go with ‘Woobin’ instead?”

“I always called you Woobin since the first time I meet you. I’ve tried to call you oppa but seems like I always forget. Bad habits die hard you know.” Jay explained while giving an opened beer can to Woobin.

“Look at you, ish… you surely are a writer, you're so good with words.”

“It’s seems like a compliment to me, so thank you.” Jay said politely before she flashed a big grin to the guy in front of her.

“So… what happen?” Woobin then asked Jay after he sipped his beer.

“Hmm? Do you know what the punishment of murderer is? Being jailed your entire life? Or a death sentence?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“Because I really want to make that old man disappears.” Jay said after put down the empty can on the coffee table and opened a new one.

“Is it that bad? What does he said to you?”

“Yeah, it’s that bad. He said something really ridiculous that I thought he go insane for a little while.”

“Ah why? Don’t make me feel worried and tell me.” Woobin put down his empty can after he finished all the beer inside.

“He wants me to get married.”

“And?” Woobin asked because he knew that it wasn’t the only case.

“And he’ll choose the candidates himself. And yes, not a candidate but candidates. And I’ll need one of those candidates to get married with or…”

“Or what?”

“My identity as an Iris will be revealed.”

Woobin just looked at his dearly friend while processing the information he got. Iris was Jay’s pen name and she used it because he didn’t want herself and her private life revealed to the readers or anyone who read her books. So for the whole 5 years she became Iris that no one knew about and Woobin knew that Jay wouldn’t like any single thing if her identity revealed. But Woobin also knew that it wasn’t enough to make Jay agree with her grandfather.

“So what did you say?”

“Get lost.” Jay said while looking at Woobin which actually make the latter a lil bit shocked. “I told him to get lost.” Jay said again, but this time, she looked at the beer can she was holding.

“Get lost.” Jay said hatefully to the older man in front of her. She was ready to leave when she heard the old man speak to her.

“I don’t know that you hate me this much, but still, I need to tell you that you should do as I say.”

“And why should I?”

“To repay me.”

“Are you finally out of your mind? For as long as I remember, I never had any debt to repay you.”

“You didn’t, but your father did.” Those words took Jay off guard, just like that old man predict.

“Then asked him to repay you instead of asking me.”

“You didn’t think I haven’t? I’ve asked him, but he’s so broke because of all his women he's playing him. He’s penniless right now.”

Jay feel like her body poured by cold water at the moment she heard that news. A pit of anger created inside her while she learnt the fact that his father broke because of his desire to women. But then again, Jay trying to calmed her mind before she looked at her grandfather.

“It’s still not my business. Now, I want to warn you to not disturb me again, to never appear in my life again. And don’t use my friend anymore. You can’t be that low, you know.” Jay said harshly and was about to get up from her seat before her grandfather said something that made her freeze in her seat.

“Okay, I won’t bother you. You're not the only child of your father.”He said.

Jay looked at the victorious smile that formed on her grandfather’s face while saying, “Don’t you dare bothering my brother!”

“Why can’t I? You didn’t want to help your father, but unlike you, your brother will feel obligate to help his father, don’t you think?”

“Leave him alone!”

“Only if you do as I say.”

“It’s still don’t make any sense! Why I need to get married just to repay the debt of the good-for-nothing kind of father that I unfortunately have?!”

“Because I will get the profit from the marriage that you’ll have. You wouldn’t be worried about your brother’s future too.”

Silence fell among them. As much as Jay hate to agree with her grandfather, she’d more hate herself if she let that crazy grandfather of her using her brother to repay the debt.

“Okay, I agree. You can’t touch him and I don’t want to get married in near time.”

“Don’t worry, you just need to choose one of the candidates. I already prepare the men who are—”

“That’s enough, keep it for yourself, just don’t do anything funny to my brother. I just need to choose one of the men right? Just tell me when I need to choose and it’ll be over after I married him.” Jay said impatiently before she turned around and walked to the door when she heard her old grandfather shouted,

“No, you can’t just choose randomly! You need to add a romance story line just like what you did in your novels!”

“So, you're agree with him?” Woobin asked after he heard the whole story.

“I don’t have a choice.”

“Here.” Woobin gave Jay another beer after he opened it.

“I think I'm gonna stay over for the night.” Jay said to Woobin.

Woobin look at his friend for awhile before he got up and said, “Sure, you can stay over.” He then walked to his room and come back to living room while handing Jay a pair of clothes and shorts.

“Here. You can wash yourself and change into this.” Woobin said warmly which make Jay really wanted to hold him tight and said how thankful she was to have him on her side.