chapter five / “what? a woman?”

 

 

She opened her eyes and squinted as she saw the scene in front of her. Jungkook was holding onto her in a hug as he pressed her against his chest where she sighed. No wonder her nose hurt so much, he exercised. She was only glad he wasn’t a rash person, they’re still clothed and seeing the clock on her bedside drawer, saw it was around 6. If she needed the sleep, she had no idea. But she did feel a bit cheated off from.

 

He practically used her as a body pillow and she felt very uncomfortable. As in that her body was stuck in one position through the whole through and she felt as if she needed to do yoga in order to stretch her body well. As she didn't feel like going back to sleep, she stayed there thinking about life and Taehyung's call. But thinking about all of that made her head hurt, so she just let herself be a body pillow to Jungkook. After all, she remembered Taehyung whining to her that Jungkook wouldn't wake up after a party and the two were late to school.

 

"Jungkook." She only said after a few minutes as she felt very uncomfortable as she crossed her legs.

 

She really had to go to the bathroom. She could barely move her body as he was holding him so tightly, so she could only speak. But even then, she couldn't be able to reach him. She was still just at his chest.

 

"Jungkook." She said a bit more anxiously but didn't hear a response.

 

She lifted her foot and poked Jungkook's leg. "Jungkook."

 

At that, she heard a slight grunt and felt pressure from Jungkook leaning his head against hers as he moved a bit, but he squeezed on her more.

 

"Jungkook." She said again.

 

He groaned in annoyance as he then buried his head into her hair as he squeezed her more, hurting her.

 

"Jungkook!" She yelled as she felt her bones hurting from the pressure.

 

"Shut up." He groaned sternly, his voice still hoarse from just waking up.

 

She was slightly surprised and to be honest, it kind of scared her. She's seen him angry, but she's never seen him be that stern. No wonder Taehyung wouldn't wake him up.

 

"Jungkook!" She yelled at him again. "You're hurting me!"

 

"Huh?"

 

He stopped holding onto her and moved his arms away from her as he rose from the sheets and stood straightly. He opened his eyes and saw Sunghee looking at him and quickly looked away before he could see her expression, and instead looked at her bare shoulder. He reached his hand out and she looked at him sternly as he touched her bare shoulder. He then pulled her shirt up and he then moved his hand to her face and leaned toward her, shuffling the sheets as he kissed her neck.

 

"What do you want Jungkook?" She asked as he stopped and hugged her.

 

"This moment." He said as he leaned his chin against her shoulder.

 

"Hey, I have to go to the bathroom first." She said as she pushed him slightly away.

 

"Mm." He let her go and she scurried to her bathroom.

 

He scratched his head as his dewy eyes blinked as he squinted at the light peering out of the hallway. He looked around and saw her phone nearby. He swiped the phone and looked at himself. His hair was really messy and it was starting to get into his eyes. He sighed as he couldn't believe that Sunghee saw him like this. He'll have to fix his hair when he sees her again. He looks like a mess. He wanted to look good in front of her.

 

He squeezed her pillow as he waited there as he thought about earlier. He buried his head in her pillow as he turned red. As he did, he heard her phone ringing. He rose his head and saw the caller. Seeing the familiar number, he frowned and declined the call. Clearing all of her notifications, he put it down on the bedside table and walked out into the kitchen. His stomach was growling pretty badly. He opened the refrigerator and saw it was empty, minus half a carton of eggs and a quart of milk. He saw on the counter some cereal and he sighed. Opening the cabinets, he only saw a few plates and silverware and one cabinet filled with nothing but ramen packets and he frowned.

 

Hearing the water run, he shouted toward her. “Sunghee, do you want to go out?”

 

“Huh?” Sunghee asked hearing Jungkook’s voice after turning the water off and wiping her hands.

 

“It’s six, do you want to go out?” He loudly asked her. “You don’t seem to have any food.”

 

“What are you asking?” She asked as she entered the kitchen.

 

“You want to go food shopping?”

 

"I'm on a tight budget." She shook her hands, declining him. "Besides, you should be sleeping."

 

"Don't worry," Jungkook smiled as he looked at her,"I'll pay."

 

"I can just eat ramen."

 

"It's not like you're on a diet, health before money. Why'd you think in dramas, their loved ones are in the hospital for long times and end up with a debt?"

 

"For plot's sake." She rolled her eyes.

 

"If you're not going, then I'm going."

 

"You're sick!"

 

“Am I?” He rose his eyebrow as he went toward the door. “I don’t think I’m doing anything morally wrong.”

 

“You know what I mean! I can’t let a sick person go on their own, what if you faint again?” She held Jungkook’s wrist which was touching the doorknob.

 

“Don’t worry, after sleeping I’m fine. Before I go shopping though, I have to go to my apartment.” He used his other hand and removed her hand.

 

“I’m going.” She immediately said.

 

“Like this?” He pointed at her shirt at shook her head and spoke in an English accent. “Change first dear.”

 

“Don’t speak like that.” She said before she ran to her room to change before muttering to herself,“I knew it, he was lying this whole time. Don’t think I forgot high school.”

 

Sunghee walked out of her room wearing a wool turtleneck, skinny jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. Jungkook came out of the bathroom at the same time and she immediately saw Jungkook’s messy bed hair changed into his original slick bowlcut.

 

“What happened?”

 

“I just borrowed your comb. Don’t worry, I cleaned out the hair out.” He looked at her and attempted a hug but he was knocked away. “If you’re gonna dress like me, you should’ve known we’ll look like a couple.”

 

“You’re not even wearing a style close to mine.” She rolled her eyes as she opened the door. “Besides, this is just for shopping. Look different so no one will approach you. Yours says flower boy all over the place.”

 

“Hey, this is just my style!” He said as he walked in front of her, backwards.

 

“Say that to last time. What were you, a rebel?”

 

The two walked on the sidewalk under the fading sun, the glimmering lights coming out of the street poles illuminating the two. She had her hands in her pocket and he was circling around her.

 

“I was trying to be different.” He said as the two stopped at the green light.

 

“Speaking of which, why do you know where I live?” She turned to Jungkook.

 

He looked at her with a cute expression, puffing his cheeks out like a little kid. “I can never give out my sources!”

 

“Hmph.“ She walked down the street when the light turned red with Jungkook following.

 

"Hey, you don't even know where you're going!" He ran toward Sunghee.

 

"I know enough that it's going this way."

 

"Hey, let me lead you." Jungkook said as he held her hand in the crowd of people.

 

Just like that, she followed him a few steps behind. As she looked at the high class buildings across the street, she looked at him in envy. But it surprised her when he didn’t cross the street, but stop at an average brick apartment. It wasn’t at a sleek and modern skyscraper, but an average looking apartment every city has, like hers.

 

“Surprised?” He laughed. “But my father invested in the interior and security. You don’t have to worry about me being suddenly poor.”

 

“Is this your father’s? I thought he was only interested in technology.”

 

“When I told him about studying here, he told me to stay here.”

 

“Why do you want to study here?” She asked as the two went into the lobby which didn’t look to lavish, with a few potted plants surrounding, but it did smell like fresh paint. “Didn’t Seoul University want you?”

 

“Doesn’t studying abroad look better on your resume?” He asked as he pushed the elevator button.

 

“Yeah.” She smiled, just slightly guilty when he asked the question as he’s acting weirdly innocent now.

 

“I knew you could smile. Smile more Sunghee.” He puffed his cheeks as he used his fingers to raise up the corners of into a smile.

 

“Don’t do that.” She pushed his hands away as the elevator opened up and wiped . “Which floor?”

 

“Couldn’t you be nicer?” He holds on a section of her hair and held it like it was gold as he twirled it around his finger.

 

“I’m being pretty nice to you. Which floor?”

 

She knocks his hand off her and he smiled. “6th.”

 

She then used her left hand to press the button. Before she could, Jungkook blocked the buttons with her body as she instead touched his bellybutton.

 

“Move idiot.” She said as she saw his embarrassed face as he shielded his body with his hands.

 

“Earlier you were so nice and cute.”

 

“Before I was stressed out and went with the flow. But that’ll be the only time it’ll occur. I’ll make sure of it.”

 

“Then... become my girlfriend.” He beamed at her. “Then it won’t be just an occasion.”

 

“I’ll have to refuse.” She pushed him aside and pressed the button for the 6th floor.

 

“But aren’t I what you’re looking for?”

 

“I’m not going to become a housewife at age 19.” She rolled her eyes as she watched the floor numbers slowly go up.

 

“But isn’t what every girl want a tall, talented man who has a nice voice and is well off?”

 

“But you forget personality? A normal girl would like a man who has a good personality. You’re not what I’m looking for.”

 

The two looked at each other for a few seconds, her’s stern and his bubbly, his eyes wide open as he gave her a permanent smile. As the elevator stopped and opened up, he held her hand and brought her to the front of his apartment.

 

“Welcome!” He says with open arms after he opened it up with a password and fingerprint scan.

 

From her view, she could see that it was exactly how she imagined, except for the worn out punching bag with a few pieces of duct tape covering various areas of the bag in the middle of the room. It was very modern with a lot of white, an L shaped sofa, white plant pots with vibrant green leaves on shelves, a few tall, but sparse bookshelves with about five books on average. The paintings inside were of oil pastel scenery of beaches and forests. If she stepped further, she’ll probably end up knowing less about him than before.

 

“Not interested. Get your wallet and we can get out of here.” She said before hearing her stomach growl and held her hands over her stomach in hunger, her face contorted into discomfort as she held it. “On another note, I can just eat here.”

 

“Got it, I’ll cook you the best meal ever.”

 

“Can you even cook?” She asked him as he entered the kitchen.

 

“I have experience.” He said as he poked his head out from the kitchen with a spatula in his hand. “Don’t worry, you won’t starve for soon.”

 

“I don’t think you need that for cooking.”

 

She then walked inside slowly and took her shoes off. Exchanging them for slippers which seemed to fit her perfectly, she sat at the couch, holding a pillow against her stomach to reduce the pain.

 

“But I look cool.” He said as he opened up his refrigerator.

 

“Save that for Yoongi. You haven’t seen him since graduation, right?”

 

“Not really, but I saw him on the news. He’s competing in a lot of international piano competitions.”

 

“Really? What about Namjoon, he was rapping a lot.”

 

“Mmm... he became a famous rapper, he was a judge on a few rapping programs.”

 

“Then what about Jimin? I remember him being a good singer.”

 

“He was a trainee during high school, and now he’s become a soloist. He’s really popular despite debuting for such a short period of time.”

 

“Huh. Then what about Hoseok? He was dancing a lot.”

 

“Him? I think he’s managing his family’s business. But earlier, he moved to the countryside. He might be married. He always said he’d be the first to get married.”

 

“Ah. What about Seokjin?”

 

“Seokjin? I’m not too sure, he’s .”

 

She stopped asking questions for a while right there and she could smell tomato sauce from the kitchen, making her feel really hungry, forcing her to clog her nose with her hand. 

 

“And... what about Taehyung?” She reluctantly asked in a nasally voice.

 

“He’s a photographer.” He said and she could sense a bit of disgust in his voice.

 

“What did he do to you?” She asked him in a tone that a mother asking a child what happened despite know they were being naughty.

 

“Nothing.” He said stubbornly as if he were a small child.

 

“Be glad I’m starving or I would go back home.”

 

He didn’t respond and she was too hungry to care. As she sniffed the air, she couldn’t help but groan. She saw a table with two chairs and she walked over at sat down at one of the chairs. Although the apartment seemed very clean, she had doubts that it was ever touched. Leaning back in her chair, she watched Jungkook work in the kitchen. She’s seen her mother cooked so she was surprised that Jungkook wasn’t like her father in the kitchen and could manage cooking multiple dishes. She laughed slightly as she remembered grade school.

 

When her mother was working overtime, she asked for dinner. Her father first denied, but after seeing her sad face, he decided to make steak and potatoes. In the end, he burnt the steak and a small portion was actually edible and the potatoes were poorly cooked, ending up in it being impenetrable with a knife. Ever since then, she never asked for her father to cook and always made it herself. Thinking about that made her suddenly feel homesick. She closed her eyes and imagined herself being with her parents as a little kid, playing with her pomeranian in the park. She sighed.

 

“Thinking about Korea?” Jungkok asked suddenly, disturbing her thoughts.

 

She opened her eyes and saw two plates of spaghetti and sauce with a fork in the plate, steam coming out of the food. She nodded as Jungkook sat down.

 

“Eat up.“ He said as he twirled some of the spaghetti around his fork.

 

She blew on the dish and ate and each time she looked up and Jungkook, he looked as if her were deep in thought, as if he wasn’t paying attention to her. She liked that. The two ate in silence and cleaned up in silence. It was only when Yerin was walking to the door and taking the slippers off when Jungkook reached out and grabbed her hand, spinning her to face him.

 

“Wait.” He let go of her hand as he faced her. “Let me take you home. It’s late and dangerous and you’re too beautiful.”

 

“What? And next you want me to stay here?” She turned around and twisted the knob of the door as she simultaneously fit her feet inside her sneakers.

 

“Yeah. It’s not that we’re far away, but nights are dangerous.” He gave her a half smile. “Crime happens during the night.”

 

“I prefer my own bed thank you very much.” She opened the door suddenly, forcing Jungkook to step back to not get hit.

 

“You’re already here, besides, it’s not like it’s the first time we spent time together.”

 

“I don’t need to be the next Yerin. I’m not going to be bought with money.”

 

“What are you talking about? Where are you even getting these ideas? I never did anything like that.”

 

“Jungkook.” She looked at him and his flare up eyes.

 

“At least take a small break. Digest your food. It’s not a good idea to walk right after eating food.”

 

“Fine.”

 

She took the sneakers off and sat down at the couch and looked at the random paintings littered around the hallway and walls. She snapped back from reality momentarily when she heard an unfamiliar ringtone and looked toward the hallway where Jungkook picked up his phone and answered the call, going to his room. She then went back and looked at everything he owned, all of it confusing her. As she was studying them, Jungkook took her by surprise by turning her head and kissed her.

 

“I’m not letting this happen again.” She said as she pushed him back.

 

“What happen again? Sunghee, it’s just that you’re too beautiful.” He said as he kissed her again before shortly being pushed back.

 

The back of his head hit the wall and he clenched his teeth. At that second, a painting knocked off the wall. He widened his eyes as he hurriedly tried putting it back. She took this as an opportunity and stood up.

 

She changed her shoes as she twisted the doorknob, looking at him with disgust. “Have some self restraint.”