- 012 -

Everything went back to normal after a week. Jisoo stayed in her dad’s house during the mourn time. Yeonseok didn’t even take his office hours and only came to the hospital when he had surgery to do, most of the times he stayed at home, especially when Jisoo didn’t have class and took all the consult calls there.

They didn’t spend much of their times together despite their lenient time at home. Even though Jisoo had stop being mad, she still avoided him and preferred to spend her time in her bedroom or stayed longer at the college library to do her sketches and other tasks. It’s not that she didn’t want to be with him, its more that she was not sure what to say or to do around him, and their awkwardness was just beyond uncomfortable. Furthermore, she felt a great guilt toward him but she selfishly didn’t want to admit that.

Jisoo should be grateful, however, because all the things Yeonseok did was giving her time for herself. He deliberately did didn’t disturb her when she was alone in her room, he didn’t even ask anything when their dinner passed by silence. But he always accompanied her no matter what.

There's always times when she felt his hard chest pressed on her back every night when he thought she was asleep, as if forgetting his promise that he would take things slow and kept the distance over them. But Jisoo didn’t mind, strangely enough, she felt this strange feeling of comfort under his warm embrace of his arms. It’s beyond relieving to have someone holding her protectively when she was in the verge of breaking every time she thought of her dad. He never said anything, but for Jisoo it's much more than enough.

At campus, surprisingly people had stopped doing the things they used to do weeks before. Well, it didn’t stop them to gossip though, but at least not in purpose when she was visible to overhear it. Sehun had come back being indifferent, like nothing had happened in her dad’s mourning hall. At least he still threw her a glance when they passed each other, although he never showed any desire to communicate.

 And Jisoo didn’t mind though, she's also not offended by that attitude. She thought this was better, so for the good of both of them, Jisoo was as much as possible to hide herself and try not to appear in front of him.

The real plus was that they should’ve worked together in a team for the Architectural Design Studio class. She felt so bad to Kyungsoo who had to be stuck in this uncomfortable situation. When they were supposed to have a group study to discuss the joint design project, Kyungsoo had to take the fact just to meet one of them and take his time again to meet the other at different times. Jisoo instantly kept apologizing that it had to turn out this way, but there was nothing she could do, yet.

“I think I’ll just meet the PA and ask him to swap me with another kid, so you guys can go on with the new group member peacefully. I can’t do this to you, it’s not fair.” Jisoo said to him the other day, she thought about to meet the PA since their first meeting but never had the time to do so until she felt too guilty over Kyungsoo’s hardwork in managing his time.

“Life’s indeed unfair, Jisoo, haven’t you heard? And I don’t think meeting the PA will do you any good anyway, you know Park Jongsoo.” He commented flatly with his infamous stoic face.

Yes, she did hear a lot about Park Jongsoo, the famous professor's personal assistant who was so fierce and never an easy compromise. The man was a hard to talk to, and he's never hesitant to blacklist your name for no reason, just because you might want to ask for a change of class schedule, for example. He thought it weighed on his already ‘mountainous’ job, and requesting a swap member would probably make him evil all day long. Just imagining it Jisoo was horrified, her intention immediately shrunk with Kyungsoo’s warning.

It was Wednesday at noon, and Jisoo was just getting ready to leave for campus when she heard a knock on her door, Yeonseok’s head peeping out a second later.

“Lunch ready, are you coming?” he asked.

“I’ll be down in five.”

“Alright.”

She put her laptop into her satchel bag after Yeonseok closed the door and prepared report papers she’s going to take, then changed her clothes with a fitted dark jeans and beige knitted jumper dress that—she thought—looked best on her autumn look. She also prepared her favorite plaid blanket scarf to wear later, only to realize that Sehun gave it to her at their first anniversary and she didn’t want to be seen in that scarf if she met him accidentally. It probably would hurt him so she left it on her bed, and took the lightweight cashmere scarf with her before she run down the stairs to the kitchen.

Yeonseok looked like to be leaving too, maybe to the hospital, because he's groomed in his office clothes. His tshirt collar was folded neatly on the neck under his light brown sweater, his hair neatly combed sideways, looking too neatly than usual.

“You’re cooking this in that suit?” Jisoo asked curiously as she found him too well-groom to be covered in smelly steam from the cooking.

“No, I prepared this in this suit. You’re going to college?”

“Um-hum, I got a class at two.”

Yeonseok let out a soft hum, when Jisoo looked up she found him eyeing her with a judging look.

“What?” she asked.

“Don’t you look overly dressed for a class? I almost think you’re like, trying to impress someone.” He teased. Jisoo knew exactly that those words meant much more than it sounded even though he said that jokingly. Look who’s talking, she thought.

She smiled, “I’m trying to impress the Dean. We’ll have a report presentation for our internship last summer this afternoon. And what you wear,” she pointed on her dress, “It matters.”

Yeonseok mum the ‘ah’ expression and raised his thumb, “You’ll slay them.”

“What about you? Who are you trying to impress?” she asked back.

“I’ll be speaking for the board in front of health and welfare committee in national assembly.”

“Wow, in what occasion?” She wasn’t really surprised by that revelation, Yeonseok was that kind of person who would do that sort of thing in his daily basis, but still knowing someone she knew would talk in front of the congressmen, she's impressed.

“We’re, uh, having this charity program for the poor kids and the hospital kind of needed the committee’s ‘support’—” he quoted with his fingers, “For that.”

Yeonseok didn’t really talk much about his project, she wasn’t sure it’s because he just didn’t feel like it, or because it hadn’t done yet—most probably the latter—but Jisoo could guess this might have something to do with the charity program he once annunciated back in the US. She remembered Han Seojung had mentioned about Yeonseok's plan to bring the same program here.

“Any word of advice?” Yeonseok asked when Jisoo didn’t really comment any more than a nod.

“You know, you’re much experienced than me in term like this.”

“Yeah, but—“ He shrugged, “I still feel so nervous as hell, and I want to hear some words of, you know, anything?”

This, was actually something she didn’t expect to see from him. She never thought of him as someone who would be nervous. He didn’t look nervous when he talked to her dad about their wedding, he didn’t even sound nervous when he recited his vow like she did. He was composed and always organized, and—even if she couldn’t manage to see if he was really nervous like he said he was or just faking it, the sound itself was, surreal.

“Well,” Jisoo sipped on her chopstick, then looked up to the ceiling as if she could find any answers there, and shrugged, “You know, don’t look at their eyes when you speak. Just look above their heads or something, they say it will make you less nervous and be more focused on your material.”

She knew exactly her words of advice won’t make anything at all, and she was slightly embarrassed that she couldn’t find a much better thing to say. When she put a shameful grimace on her face, Yeonseok couldn’t help but letting out a small giggle, and maybe this was the ice breaker between them, because the conversation flew so easily afterwards. She didn’t get to say sorry though, but she knew by removing the uptightness on her attitude meant she was ready to open up again. She believed Yeonseok could see the slight of her apology in between the smiles and chuckles she had on his jokes.

“Have you decided on what you’re going to do with your dad’s house?” Yeonseok asked her again on the way to the college. He insisted to drive her there on his way despite her refusal, since he needed to make a U-turn if she rode with him. But the thing about Yeonseok was, he’s always had this ‘keyword’ that she should abide the elder—which in this case was him obviously, so she had no choice.

Regarding the question, Jisoo didn’t really think about it before. She grew up in that house, literally was hatched there. But now that her both parents gone, she had idea what to do with the house. So she told him that.

“Well, are you thinking to move back in?”

She shook her head, “No, definitely not. That house would be the hell of me, too much memory of my parents there; I don’t think I can handle it.”

“Well, let’s go home then, tonight.” He suggested suddenly.

Home? She turned to look at him, nonplussed of his choice of word. What did he mean by go home? What confused her first that she thought they’re already home now, but Yeonseok apparently had a different idea.

“Not that home, Jisoo, but our home. We’ve been crashing over your parents’s house for a week, it’s time for us to go home now. Maybe we can sort out some things until you decide what to do with that house.”

Jisoo never really thought about it before too, she didn’t think that this word could be this intimate since now it involved the two of them. Even after a month she always almost forgot that she’s a married woman. Hiding her awkwardness, Jisoo adjusted the scarf on her neck, and she nodded. He’s right anyway, the mourning’s over; it’s time for them to go home.

“Alright, okay. Anyway, you can drop me off there at the bus stop.” She pointed at the bus stop right ahead. “I feel like walking today, it freshened up my mind.” She said again when Yeonseok asked why she wanted to get off not on her college.

“Do you want me to pick you up after the presentation?”

“Um,” she pursed her lips, “I’ll kinda have a plan with Lisa later. She just started a part-time job at this yogurt house near here, she wanted me to come by.”

“Okay. So, Jongdae will take you home?” Yeonseok asked again out of curiosity as he pulled over to the bus stop.

“Probably. But if not I can just take a bus, it’s not too far from the apartment anywa