Chapter 2.5
The Beginning of Something Unexpected
Morning at Sungmin’s Aparment
15th February 2018
8.20 a.m.
Jiwon woke up from her good night’s sleep and saw a figure she’s familiar of laying in front of her. Suddenly, bits of memories started to flood her mind as she recalled the things that happened between her and Sungmin last night. Jiwon froze as her heart started to beat fast in panic.
She quickly went out of the bed and picked up her underwear and dress that were lying in disarray on the floor. She headed to the bathroom across the room, and wore all her clothes back.
Her legs felt weak suddenly, so she let her back slide off the bathroom wall, as she curled herself up on the black marble tiles - trying to recall every single detail of what happened on the night of Valentine’s Day.
She truthfully didn’t know what to feel. Did she feel regretful? Or was she satisfied that she actually lost it to Sungmin last night? She couldn’t work it out.
8.35 a.m.
Sungmin woke up from his sleep, and realized his bare state. He instantly remembered what happened last night with Jiwon, and lifted his body up as he couldn’t find Jiwon next to him.
Jiwon’s bag was laying on the sofa at the foot of the bed, so Jiwon must still be in the apartment, Sungmin thought.
He grabbed a towel robe that was luckily within reach beside the bed. He put it on and went outside the room to search for Jiwon.
The first place he checked was the living room and kitchen area, but he could only spot opened cans of beers, uncapped Soju bottles, and some alcohol glasses on the coffee table.
He had searched everywhere except for the bathroom opposite his room.
As Sungmin reached the bathroom door, he said softly while knocking,
Sungmin: Jiwon-ah…
The air was silent.
Sungmin: are you inside?
There was no answer, so Sungmin warned that he’s going to enter the bathroom.
As he turned the door knob and the door opened, he saw Jiwon curling up on the bathroom tiles. She was wearing her pink dress and her hair was messy.
Looking at the sight, Sungmin gulped in uneasiness.
He approached Jiwon and let himself get into a squat position so that he could see Jiwon’s face clearly.
He tried reaching Jiwon’s arms that were wrapped around her legs, but before he could touch it, Jiwon retracted her arms to the side.
Wanting to know what happened, Sungmin asked,
Sungmin: Jiwon-ah, why are you curled up here?
There was no answer, so Sungmin tried to reach to her differently.
Sungmin: Do you want breakfast? I can make it for you…
Again. Nothing came out from Jiwon’. He tried again.
Sungmin: Do you want me to bring you home?
For the third time, Jiwon still kept quiet.
Finally, Sungmin asked her,
Sungmin: Did you regret it?
Hearing this question, Jiwon raised from her curled up position and exited the bathroom.
Sungmin couldn’t do anything, as all he could do was to witness Jiwon going inside his room to take her bag, barging out of his room, putting her heels on, and walking out of the apartment without looking and saying anything to him.
Jiwon walked out of Sungmin’s apartment in a hurry and pressed the elevator button down. She waited for the elevator to come and hoped that Sungmin didn’t follow her out.
Thank God the elevator came fast. She hopped on and pressed the ground floor. Jiwon combed her messy hair with her fingers when she saw her own reflection on the elevator doors.
As the lift reached the ground floor, she walked out of the apartment through the lobby and headed towards the bus stop to go back home.
Flashback – After the trial at Belle Epoque
13th February 2018
Kang-eonni and the Belle Epoque girls (minus Jiwon) safely arrived at the share house after a long and nerve-wrecking car journey.
They entered the house one by one with sullen expressions as they were exhausted. All these time, Kang-eonni’s driving skill hadn’t improved much.
As everyone went in, they crowded the sofa, seeeing Jiwon who’s fast asleep.
Kang-eonni clicked her fingers and gave the girls the I-have-a-plan look. She’s about to do something.
Kang-eonni took Jiwon’s phone that’s lying on the table next to the sofa.
She tried to key in the 4-digit passcode to unlock Jiwon’s phone, but it failed the first time. She tried to think of what combination could match, and she finally unlocked it on the second try.
She went over Jiwon’s chat history and found Sungmin’s name on the list. She clicked on his name and drafted some words in the chat box while thinking how Jiwon would type it to Sungmin.
The messages read:
As the messages were sent and they’ve all been read, Kang-eonni showed the chat to the Belle Epoque girls. Eunjae gave her a thumbs up.
Kang-eonni quickly deleted the message bubbles from the chat history, locked the phone and put it back on the table so Jiwon wouldn’t find out.
She went inside Yoon-sunbae’s room to make a phone call…
Yina: Hello? Dongjoo-yaa~
Dongjoo: Eo, what’s up?
Yina: Can I make a reservation at your woman’s restaurant for tomorrow at 8 p.m.?
Kang-eonni asked with her face full of hopefulness.
Dongjoo: What? Tomorrow? Ya, you know you have to make a reservation at least a week before at this restaurant, right? And tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.
Hearing Dongjoo’s reply, Kang-eonni tried to persuade him.
Yina: Ya, come on… I owe you a lot. Please please please???
Dongjoo: … Arasseo. I’ll tell her.
Kang-eonni was delighted to hear Dongjoo’s acceptance to help her.
Yina: Eo, gomawo! I trust you with this. Make the reservation under Song Jiwon, okay?
Dongjoo: What? Why Song Jiwon? I thought you’re the one who wanted to make the reservation?
Yina: Aish, why are you asking so many questions? Just do what I told you to.
Dongjoo: okayyy okayyyy, I’ll do it.
The call ended as Kang-eonni pressed the red button on the screen. Although Kang-eonni is no longer dating married man to earn money, she still maintained her network well.
Dongjoo was still pursuing his life as a cub, and the woman Kang-eonni mentioned in her call was indeed the cougar Dongjoo is seeing. She’s the owner of Villa Sortino, the 5-star restaurant that’s super popular amongst fine-dining goers.
In only about 15 minutes after Kang-eonni called Dongjoo, the reservation was confirmed. She smiled in satisfaction as her plan seemed to be working well.
So, that was how Sungmin got the messages from Jiwon telling him to eat at Villa Sortino on Valentine’s Day.
Flashforward – Seoul Café
9.25 a.m.
Sungmin who’s dumb about relationships asked to meet Chungwoon as soon as he washed up after Jiwon went out of his apartment. He couldn’t follow Jiwon out, because he knew it wasn’t exactly the best thing he could do at the time.
Sungmin sat down on one of the sofas in the café, zoning out.
Chungwon who arrived saw Sungmin from outside the glass window and waved at him, but realized that something must’ve gone wrong as Sungmin didn’t seem to realize his presence.
Chungwon entered the café and approached Sungmin.
Chungwon: Hyung
Sungmin was surprised as he heard Chungwon calling him. He totally wasn’t paying attention at his surroundings.
Sungmin: Eo, you’re here.
Chungwon: Is something up?
Hearing Chungwon’s question, Sungmin couldn’t say a word.
Chungwon: I’ve never seen you like this before, Hyung.
Suddenly, Sungmin exclaimed in upset,
Sungmin: Aish!!!
Sungmin’s voice echoed around the whole café that the room turned silent instantly. Only the café’s song and the sound of the coffee makers could be heard. Sungmin covered his face with his palms to hide his face that was in dismal.
Sungmin: I think I made a huge mistake.
Chungwon who couldn’t grasp the meaning behind the statement, asked,
Chungwon: what kind?
Sungmin: We did it last night.
Sungmin continued,
Sungmin: We drank alcohol together at my place. It was uncontrollable.
Chungwon: Hyung…. Wait…. Are you talking about Jiwon-sunbae?
Sungmin didn’t answer Chungwon’s suggestive question, but silence means yes.
Wanting to know more of the story, Chungwon popped another question,
Chungwon: So what happened then?
Sungmin let go a sigh,
Sungmin: I think she hates me now. What the should I do?
Chungwon: Alright, let’s be clear first. Who initiated it?
Sungmin tried to recall the incident first before answering the question.
Sungmin: Well, as I remember, we both kissed… Aish! This is so awkward! Why do I even have to tell you this?!
Chungwon: It’s okay. Continue.
Sungmin paused for a while before he continued on with his elaboration,
Sungmin: We both kissed at the same time, I saw her approaching me too. I took her to my room and then…
Chungwon: And then what?
Sungmin: Before we reached that stage, she took the protection from her bag and then I asked her if she’s sure that she wanted to do it.
Chungwon: so what did she say?
Sungmin: She told me to shut up.
Chungwon: … Seriously? Jiwon-sunbae told you to shut up?
Chungwon laughed at the story.
But of course he knew Sungmin wasn’t joking in any way. All along, the Sungmin-hyung that he knew is someone who’s serious.
Chungwon: Okay Hyung, from what I see, I don’t think Jiwon-sunbae hates you. You see, we’ve gone out a lot with her to drink outside and I must admit she’s a strong drinker. She doesn’t get drunk easily, but well she does get hyper. Very. What you should do now is try and talk to her slowly. I’ll ask Eunjae if she can help.
Sungmin: Jinjja? Are you sure?
Chungwon: Yes, Hyung. I don’t dare bluff, especially to you. You’re scary. I’ll call Eunjae now if you won’t believe me.
Sungmin nodded a few times as he trusted Chungwon’s words.
Belle Epoque
9.27 p.m.
Jiwon’s expression was flat all the way from when she rode the bus until she entered Belle Epoque.
At the dining table, Yeeun, Eunjae and Eun were eating breakfast when Jiwon came in.
Eunjae attempted to greet her,
Eunjae: Jiwon-sunbae an…
Before she could finish her words, Jiwon ignored everyone and went straight to her room.
The three girls exchanged glances to ask if anyone knew what happened, but to no avail, no one could answer.
Curious, the girls discussed the matter.
Yeeun: Jiwon didn’t come home, right?
Eunjae and Eun nodded.
Yeeun: Didn’t Kang-eonni say she’s setting Jiwon up with Sungmin?
Eunjae and Eun nodded again.
Yeeun: Then something must’ve gone wrong somewhere between them.
This time, Eunjae and Eun looked at each other as they expected rhat something big must’ve really happened.
Suddenly, Eunjae’s phone rang. It was Chungwon. She picked the call up with a smile.
Yeeun and Eun were curious to find out what Chungwon were saying on the other side.
Eunjae ended the call and prepared to say something,
Eunjae: Someone, maybe one of us should try to talk to Jiwon-sunbae. Yeeun-sunbae, since you are the same age, why don’t you try talking to her?
After some hesitation, Yeeun replied,
Yeeun: Arasseo. I’ll try.
10.00 a.m.
Yeeun went inside her room and called Jiwon’s name softly, but there was no reply.
She looked over to Jiwon’s bed and saw her fast asleep, wrapped under her blanket. Seeing this, she went out of the room.
20.30 p.m.
Yeeun went inside the room again to see if Jiwon was already up, but she’s not.
Yeeun even brought a bowl of porridge for Jiwon to eat, but seeing that Jiwon is still asleep made her hesitate.
*zzzzzzzz* Jiwon’s phone notification showed 10 missed calls and a few messages from Sungmin, but there was no reaction from Jiwon at all.
Outside, Yeeun let the girls know about the situation and decided to call Kang-eonni for help. Anyway, she was the one who set Sungmin and Jiwon up for a fake date in the first place, so Yeeun felt that Kang-eonni was responsible.
Belle Epoque
16th February 2018
9.00 a.m.
The next morning, Jiwon woke up to relieve herself in the bathroom. When she came out, Kang-eonni was already there, waiting for Jiwon in the dining table.
Yeeun, Eunjae and Eun were seated on the sofa, looking towards Kang-eonni and Jiwon’s direction.
Without delay, Kang-eonni asked Jiwon to talk in private inside her room.
The three girls waited outside for the two girls to wrap up their sharing session.
Inside Jiwon’s room…
Jiwon sat on Yeeun’s bed and Kang-eonni dragged Jiwon’s study chair to face Jiwon.
Kang-eonni waited for a while and finally started to talk,
Yina: Jiwon-ah, why is your face like that? Did something happen?
Jiwon: …
Yina: Song Jiwon… Jaebal, please tell me if something happened.
Kang-eonni waited patiently to hear Jiwon’s answer.
If Jiwon isn’t her close friend, she would’ve blown up by now, but she lent her ear to Jiwon as she also felt responsible for setting her up with Sungmin.
She knew Jiwon’s acting like that because of Sungmin.
Jiwon: I…
Yina looked relieved as she heard Jiwon talk for the first time in 15 minutes.
Jiwon: I did it.
Yina: Did what?
Kang-eonni tried to guess the meaning behind Jiwon’s statement, and she kind of guessed what it’s all about.
But the thing sis she doesn’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, judging from Jiwon’s expression that was flat.
Suddenly, Jiwon exclaimed in her cheerful voice,
Jiwon: Kang-eonni… I finally did it!!!
Kang-eonni who heard it, understood Jiwon’s feeling right away.
Jiwon’s overjoyed.
Yina: Yaa Song Jiwon… you went that far??
Jiwon nodded ecstatically. Her expression switched from flat to all smiles in literally no time.
Yina: ya, you sly b**ch! I thought something went terribly wrong with you!!!!
Kang-eonni squished Jiwon’s cheeks to show her adoration and irritation towards her friend who’s no longer a .
Jiwon’s ecstatic state didn’t last long, however, as she’s now looking confused.
Jiwon opened to ask something,
Jiwon: I know I should be happy, because I finally did what I always wanted to do in the first place. But I don’t know why I feel weird?
Kang-eonni, who’s back to not understanding Jiwon asked,
Yina: How so?
Jiwon: I don’t know
Yina: Do you like him?
When Kang-eonni hit Jiwon with that question, something came up on Jiwon’s mind, and she wanted to clarify that out with her.
Jiwon: If you like a person, does your heart beat like crazy when you look at that person’s eyes? And does your stomach feel weird too?
Kang-eonni tried to give an honest answer.
Yina: Well, I’d say yes to the former, but the latter… seems to suggest you need the toilet.
Yina: But anyway, who initiated it?
Upon hearing Kang-eonni’s response, Jiwon tried to recall that moment at Sungmin’s apartment.
Jiwon: Well…. we kissed at the same time, and I could feel that we both enjoyed it a lot
Jiwon: But for THAT matter… I think I took the lead. He even asked me first if I was sure. At that time I spontaneously told him to shut up, because I couldn’t hold it anymore.
Kang-eonni poked Jiwon’s shoulder to make fun of her.
Yina: So what’s the problem, then?
Jiwon: I’m embarrassed.
Jiwon’s honest statement made Kang-eonni feel like there’s absolutely no reason why Jiwon should feel that way.
Yina: Embarrassed of what? The Song Jiwon that I know is never embarrassed of anything.
Jiwon: Facing him.
Jiwon: I’m embarrassed because we’ve seen each other with no single thread on our bodies, and truthfully, our relationship is still friends. We didn’t say anything about feelings yesterday. I mean, we were too drawn into the mood.
So, that’s how Jiwon felt. No matter how outgoing and vulgar Jiwon is, it’s still her first time and honestly she felt so damn awkward and nervous when she woke up to find Sungmin beside her.
All these time Jiwon saw Sungmin as her close guy friend, but the fact that they broke that wall that one night changed it all. That’s why when Sungmin found her curling up in the bathroom, Jiwon avoided him and refused to be driven home in his car.
With no hesitation, Kang-eonni provided the simplest solution to Jiwon.
Yina: Then you should make you and him not friends anymore.
Jiwon looked up to Kang-eonni as she heard her advice. Her eyes goggled as her heart pounded quite strongly.
Kang-eonni stood up from the study chair and exited the room.
The three girls who were waiting outside instantly looked at her to ask how it went.
Kang-eonni gave them the smile and the ‘ok’ gesture to express that Jiwon was okay and everything went well.
‘Yeokshi,’ everyone thought. ‘Kang-eonni knows how to handle everyone’s problem.’
At Jiwon’s room…
Jiwon checked her phone and saw the numerous amount of missed calls and messages from… Sungmin.
She hesitantly opened the chat and read it. It was from yesterday.
Jiwon sat and thought for a while before she hit number ‘1’ speed-dial button on her phone.
Right. She set the primary speed-dial for Sungmin’s number.
She felt so foolish that she just realized how important Sungmin was in her life.
Sungmin’s Apartment
9.35 a.m.
Sungmin was home in the living room, zoning out while staring at his phone for don’t know how long already.
As soon as his phone rang with Jiwon’s caller ID showing on the screen, he reached out to his phone, cleared his throat, and answered the call.
Sungmin: Hello?
Jiwon: Hm…
Sungmin who’s relieved to hear Jiwon’s voice replied,
Sungmin: Where have you been? I’m dead worried that something might have happened to you. Are you alright?
Jiwon: You don’t have to worry about me… I’m fine.
After some pause, Jiwon continued,
Jiwon: Sungmin-ah…
Sungmin: Eo… why?
Jiwon: Let’s meet.
Sungmin heard Jiwon’s request and quickly agreed to it.
Sungmin: Where do you want to meet?
There was only one place Jiwon could think of at that time.
Jiwon: My favorite chicken place.
Hearing Jiwon’s reply, Sungmin laughed a little, as he couldn’t hold her cuteness.
Sungmin: Do you want me to come over to pick you up?
Jiwon: ani, it’s okay… I’ll go there by myself.
Sungmin who wanted to respect Jiwon, ended the call with his last response,
Sungmin: Alright, see you.
Sungmin shouted out in glee as Jiwon finally called him.
He hasn’t been able to sleep the whole night, thinking about Jiwon and the possibility that he might have committed a wrong doing to Jiwon the other night.
At the Chicken Place
11.00 a.m.
Sungmin was the first to arrive yet again.
He ordered the menu that Jiwon liked and waited for about 5 minutes before Jiwon came and sit in front of Sungmin at the usual table.
Jiwon couldn’t look at Sungmin in the eyes as she was still embarrassed. Her cheeks was red like ripe cherries.
Sungmin tried to catch a glimpse of Jiwon’s face but failed to do so as Jiwon completely buried her face such that her long hair covered her whole face.
Jiwon gathered her courage and finally looked up and say,
Jiwon: You…
Sungmin was all ears as he wanted to hear what Jiwon had to say,
Jiwon: What’s the re-
Before Jiwon could finish her sentence, the chicken and coke that Sungmin ordered earlier came to their table.
The waiter, who was familiar of Sungmin and Jiwon commented,
Waiter: Oh you two are here! It’s been a long time. Enjoy your meal.
Sungmin and Jiwon could only smile in response to the waiter’s remarks. As the waiter walked away, Jiwon continued where she left off,
Jiwon: What’s the reason that you kissed me last night?
Sungmin’s heart almost exploded in reflex to Jiwon’s straight-to-the-point question. But as a man, Sungmin gathered his guts to tell her nothing but the truth.
Sungmin: Honestly…
Jiwon’s pupil expanded as she looked forward to Sungmin’s answer.
Sungmin: I like you.
Jiwon stayed completely still as she heard what Sungmin just uttered. It felt surreal.
Sungmin:
I like you. A lot. Okay? I REALLY LIKE YOU. Everytime you got into trouble, it makes my heart race like crazy and it makes me so worried about you.
And whenever I see your gloomy face for whatever reason, I really wanted to hug you to assure you that everything’s gonna be alright.
And when you teased me to go date that female hoobae, or to tell other girls that I live in a big apartment, I can’t. Because you’re the only one I’m concerned about. I don’t want anyone else.
Didn’t you get why I asked you if you’d be okay if I date that hoobae? I wanted to find out if you at least have a tiny bit of feelings for me.
But do you know what’s even harder? It’s the thought that I might have to sacrifice our togetherness if you reject me.
I’m so scared to lose you.
All the sudden, Sungmin felt his heart so much more at ease as he finally let all his suppressed feelings for Jiwon out all at once in words, something he couldn’t do all these years.
Jiwon who was all ears hearing Sungmin’s confession burst out in tears.
She opened to react,
Jiwon: You bad guy. Why didn’t you tell me all that before?!
Jiwon kept sobbing as she expressed her thoughts.
Sungmin handed out his handkerchief to Jiwon and told her to wipe her tears.
Jiwon: If you told me earlier, I would’ve realized that I like you sooner.
Jiwon: Do you know how confused I was? I didn’t know how to face you because I thought we were still just friends and last night was just a result of our thirst.
Sungmin who heard what Jiwon just said twitched his eyes as he couldn’t believe that his feeling was reciprocated.
Sungmin: So that night was real for you too?
Sungmin asked Jiwon to confirm her feelings.
Jiwon: Eo. It was. Ya! You’re the one who told me you need to lose it to the right person as it’s something very precious. Do you even remember your own words?
Sungmin, who understood what she said, smiled.
Sungmin: Seriously, Jiwon-ah… I thought you were mad at me. Your actions yesterday morning made me dead nervous.
Sungmin: I thought I’d lose you from that moment on.
Jiwon: Just accept it. We women tend to show complicated feelings.
Sungmin sighed as he heard Jiwon’s reply, but he knew all too well about this kind of thing.
Sungmin: I know. I know.
Sungmin: Wahh… this reminds me of the times when you said “Don’t worry about me,” when you curled up in the university newspaper office. I did exactly what you told me to, but you kept pouting and your eyes were teary. I couldn’t hold to not care and ended up asking you what’s wrong. Do you remember?
Jiwon smirked in remembrance as she heard Sungmin’s words.
As the atmosphere has now cooled down, Sungmin offered Jiwon her favorite fried chicken drumstick and smiled as Jiwon ate it deliciously, with the spirit of the Song Jiwon he knew.
On Jiwon’s fifth drumstick, she blurted a question casually for Sungmin,
Jiwon: By the way, my skill in bed was phenomenal, right?
Sungmin choked upon hearing Jiwon’s nonchalant question and blinked his eyes numerous times to control himself.
Jiwon: Well you don’t have to tell me, I know I’m good. To tell you the truth… you were not bad.
During all those 4 years of knowing Jiwon, Sungmin still couldn’t fathom Jiwon’s coolness every time she talked about vulgar things.
Sungmin gulped down a pint of coke in front of him to cool himself down.
Sungmin and Jiwon finished eating and headed out towards the car that’s parked on the street.
In the car, Jiwon held Sungmin’s right hand that’s unoccupied, and fit her slim fingers in between Sungmin’s.
Jiwon commented,
Jiwon: yaa… how can our hands fit so perfectly like this?
Sungmin: I don’t know, maybe we’re just meant to be?
Jiwon who heard Sungmin’s cheesy words, ,
Jiwon: Im Sungmin, you learnt some sweet-talk skills, didn’t you?
Jiwon: Are you sure you’re a mosol all these time?
Sungmin laughed as he heard Jiwon teasing him.
But to answer that question, Sungmin thought to himself, ‘yeah, I was a mosol, but not anymore. Because I have you.’
So that was how Sungmin and Jiwon finally confirmed their feelings.
Both went through a lot to finally have their hearts intertwine.
From now on, their journey is going to be filled with ups and downs.
It’s only natural that two people in a love relationship go through some frictions in between.
But if those frictions are approached with open hearts, it would only strengthen a couple’s relationship.
Glossary
mosol = motae solo = Forever alone (single since birth)
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