Her

As her new roommate promised, Jiwoo never saw him after morning lectures. They would occasionally say good morning to each other, although it was awkward at first because of Matthew's habit to walk around with no shirt on. After some time, she got used to it or simply left before he opened his eyes.

She had hours and hours of silence for studying, but the more time passed, the more she felt like choosing Business Analytics major was a big mistake. Complicated expressions combined with gigantic numbers only made her even more depressed about the future.

As expected, her mother tried reaching her, but she never picked up her calls.

Taehyung will have to come up with excuse for that, she thought while turning off her phone.

Taehyung. His name had a bitter sound on her tongue. At night, he would come to her dreams. He would hug her and ask her how is she doing. Then she would tell him how much she loves him and how much she missed him. His eyes would fill with tears.

Liar! - he would yell - If you loved me, you'd never do it!

Do what? - she would ask, her voice shaking, but they both knew very well what he was talking about.

Only thing that stopped Jiwoo from completely losing her focus was unfulfilled dream - designing. She spent days and nights spilling her creativity on blank pages, then hid those papers under her bed. She knew nobody from her family would approve, as they already had her future planned.

Jiwoo let out a long sigh and put the pencil away, along with untouched books and papers. She massaged her temples, trying to calm down the pain that would hit her around the same time every day. It was the worst minutes after waking up and came back in waves during afternoon and late night hours, but she didn't give it much importance, thinking it was just jet lag.

Blonde looked up at the clock that was hanging on the wall above her head. It was half past nine and Matthew's been absent since yesterday morning. She didn't mind, as he did mention there could be 'unplanned voyages', but today she woke up with familiar loneliness.
It was everywhere: in her heart, her bones and her skin. It was the little creaks of her footsteps, the shower rustling in early morning and sudden wind shaking the window pane.

Jiwoo raised her body off the chair reluctantly, but her stomach was growling and it was only then that she realized she hasn't eaten anything all day. She approached the fridge and found three bottles of beer and pack of pasta.

"Does he ever fill this thing?", she murmured while going through kitchen cabinet, looking for fitting pot. Since she didn't know when Matthew will be coming back, she decided to leave the leftovers on the dining table once she's done.

As she stood above the burner, waiting for the water to start boiling, Jiwoo mentally rolled her eyes and the situation she got herself into. Instead of ordering breakfast from her cooks and waiting for her husband to get home at noon so they could go to another banquet and humanitarian evening, she was alone in small apartment on the other side of globe, preparing dinner for a man who doesn't even know how to spell high class, let alone be part of it.

You brought this to yourself Jeon Jiwoo, so it up, she imagined her mother's reaction and firm face expression. Or maybe she wouldn't bother giving her lectures. You are disgrace to this family!

Door lock clicking sound disrupted her bubble of thoughts. Someone opened the front door and entered.

"It was about time! I was just about to call and ask if you're coming for dinner!", Jiwoo shouted without looking up, busy with pouring hot water in sink and transferring pasta to colander. When she raised her head, she had to bite her tongue in order to not scream.

Pair of green eyes was staring at her, clearly confused. Dark curls bounced on top of his head, same tone as his bronze skin. Defined biceps showed he was twice as strong as her, which made her step back.

"You're not Matthew...", the words came out as soft whisper and tightened.

"Neither are you," the stranger cognized, his lips twitching to faint smirk for a moment. He had his hands in pockets and nothing showed Jiwoo he was scared or surprised that she was here.

"What do you want?", she regained confidence and straightened her pose, so he wouldn't notice her trembling fingers.

"You're something new. Is he into Barbies now?", he ignored her question and came closer, while she automatically walked backwards, until her back hit the wall and she immediately started sweating. "What's wrong, doll? Hoped I was your lover?"

His gaze crossed the pasta on the sink. "Cute. You have no idea what I would give for homemade dinner. Mind if I join you?"

He wrapped one of her hair strands around his finger and stared at it like it's the most interesting thing he's ever seen. "Or would you prefer coming over to my place?"

"If there's anything you wanted to say, I think it was directed to me!"

Jiwoo felt relieved to see Matthew coming over. He looked very angry while pushing the intruder away from her. He made sure there's a proper distance and then stood in front of her, covering her from curious green eyes that only now showed surprisement.

"What the hell are you doing here, Jack?", his tone was cold and even if he didn't know his friend was going to pay him a visit, he didn't let it show.

"Just checking on my old friend", Jack replied, but Jiwoo sensed there was something else.

Like breaking in isn't enough of a proof...

"Great, now why are you really here?", Matthew proved her theory, like they were thinking the same.

"Because your dumb couldn't make one proper delivery in two weeks!"

Jack's voice echoed through the walls. Jiwoo didn't understand what they were talking about, but it was definitely strong enough to make Matthew close his mouth. There was short pause before he turned around and spoke to her on Korean.

"Why don't you go to the convenience store and buy some sauce?"

She wanted to rebel, but the look in his eyes told her it's not the right time. He followed her all the way to the front door.

"Who is he?", she half-whispered while hurriedly putting on a jacket, not sure if the guest could understand them.

"I'll explain it to you later. Go down the street and you'll see a 7/11 on the corner. Wait for me there and try not to stand out," Matthew pushed a 10-dollar bill in her pocket and opened the door, hurrying her even more.

"Oh, and," she turned around when he started another sentence, "run."

When Jiwoo exited the building, Matthew's last words were ringing in her head.

Run.

She looked around cautiously, but it was too dark to even see her own hands, let alone if someone was following her. Whole block didn't have any sort of lighting, making Jiwoo question her decision to come here.

Who was that curly-haired man? Matthew seemed like he knew him, but it was obvious they weren't on good terms. What type of delivery was he talking about and why did that make Matthew freeze? Jiwoo felt his muscles tense up beneath white shirt.

Before she could realize it, she was running. Her boots made clicking noise. A dog barked out of nowhere, catching her off-guard. The girl stumbled and extended her palms forward, so she could at least tone down the damage the fall could make.

She was shaking, from both cold air and fear. But why was she scared? Maybe startled. Yes, that's the word. Just as she managed to reassure herself, Jiwoo felt acid from her stomach raising up and finishing on asphalt. She did feel relieved, but it only lasted until she reached the store Matthew directed her to.

As soon as she entered, anxiousness was back. What if something bad happened to him?

She would wince every time cold air would rush through door for a brief moment. The man behind the counter started giving Jiwoo suspicious looks when 30 minutes have passed and she hasn't left yet.

"Try not to stand out."

Remembering those words, she decided to grab a box of cereal, then headed to the counter to pay.

"That'll be 2.50," his tone was emotionless, but Jiwoo felt certain amount of caution. She nodded and went through her pockets, looking for the money Matthew gave her. After full minute of search, she realized that she must've dropped the bill when she fell earlier.

Jiwoo smiled awkwardly, ready to apologize, when somebody tossed 5 dollars on the table.

"She's with me," Matthew made sure to highlight that fact. Jiwoo looked up and gasped when she saw a bruise on his lower lip. Just what has happened? Was it her fault?

The man's face expression changed as he took the money. He was scared for some reason.

"Keep the change," taller man said sharply and pulled the girl out by her wrist. In front of the store was a motorcycle Jiwoo often saw him ride off on in the morning.

Without uttering a word, Matthew gave her red helmet. She hesitated for a bit, but he didn't look like he was in mood for arguing about whether or not she will get behind him.

Right when Jiwoo was about to take a step forward, her phone rang. She expected this to be one more of her mother's calls. However, when she saw the name on the screen, she went completely pale.

Mean Husband

"You gonna pick that up or what?", Matthew shouted impatiently.

This was it. The call she's been expecting for a few weeks. What was he going to say: to invite her back to Seoul? To beg for forgiveness? Or just find her location and send someone to follow her around again?

Jiwoo frowned. She wasn't going to be his marionette anymore. Her finger swiped right, leaving the call unanswered. To make sure he can't reach her, she turned the phone off.

"I guess they'll have to wait," she says more to herself and sits behind Matthew, wrapping her hands around his waist.

The sound of engine fills her ears, stronger than her thoughts about Kim Tae-hyung.