Jongin’s bold confession did rattle the hell out of Minjung. She couldn’t explain what she felt last night. She couldn’t think straight. Does she want Jongin to leave? Does she really want to push him away for good?

Ugh.

She ruffled her hair roughly, grunting. With the issue with Han Taejin, she couldn’t seem to keep calm. Hatred and anger pulsates whenever she thinks of him. The pain that he left her with is just too big for her to get over with.

A knock on her door made her look up. Jongin opened the door and stepped inside. He had a cup in his hands. He then placed it in front of her. “It’s a tea that my sister takes to calm her nerves down. I thought you could use a cup.”

Minjung stared at the steaming tea. She sighed.

“Han Taejin called a while ago.”

“What does he want this time?” Minjung did not even make an effort to mask the irritation in her voice.

“He said that he’ll come this afternoon to talk about the collaboration details. And he added that he wanted the two of you to act professionally.” Jongin observed how Minjung let a scoff leave her lips. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

After some more seconds, she looked up at him. “Is that all?”

Jongin looked down and drew a deep breath. “I’m moving out.”

“What?”

“Jaehyun said that his roommate left a week ago and he’s been looking for someone to shoulder the rent with him. He showed me the unit and it looked nice. The rent’s really affordable for that kind of place.” He paused. “Besides, after what I said last night, I don’t think it is good idea to stay there for a longer time. I know it will make you uncomfortable.”

Minjung’s eyes landed on his left arm which was still wrapped in a cast. When Jongin noticed that, he lifted his arm.

“Don’t worry about this. I saw the doctor two days ago and he said that I’m 90% healed. In less than a week, I’ll be able to get this off.” He pressed his lips together. “So there’s no need for me to stay at your place. I’ll move out as soon as possible. Maybe I’ll be able to move out tomorrow.”

Tomorrow? That…soon?

Minjung blinked before nodding. “I see.” Why does my heart feel so heavy? Do I want him to leave? Should I stop him? But what about distancing yourself, Lee Minjung? What about the plan of not falling for him? You’ll get yourself hurt again. “I understand. It’s good to know that you’re recovering well.”

The corner of his lips tugged upwards into a small smile. He bowed his head. “Thank you for everything. And I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.” He held her gaze. “But I’m not sorry for what I feel. I’m being sincere.”

It took her a herculean effort to not make any reaction.

Stupid heart, listen to me. I can’t afford another heartbreak so…stop.

It’s already past 8 in the evening but Minjung’s still not home. Jongin’s sure that Jiyoung and Sumin let her stay for a longer time than planned for their late coffee date. He’s been cleaning the whole apartment for an hour now. He has vacuumed and even polished the floor. He wanted to do all that before leaving. It has been settled that he’ll be moving to Jaehyun’s apartment tomorrow. He has even already packed his clothes.

He looked around, taking in a last mental picture of Minjung’s unit. It actually appeared to be tidier and more organized after cleaning it. The papers were stack on the table. The sewing machine and the dummy were put aside on a space that he made as Minjung’s work space. Idea boards were neatly hanged on one wall.

The sound of the two retrievers fighting over a toy made him snap back from his musings. “Happy. Hunter,” he called out but the two kept on running around the living room. His eyes landed on a pair of earrings on the table. He picked it up then looked at Minjung’s room. He was hesitating on opening her room to get her earrings in there. In the end, he decided to put it back in her room than lost it due to the energetic duo.

When he opened door, the two furballs came barging in. He actually nearly tripped over because of them. “Hey.” He stared at Happy as he made his way to Minjung’s opened built-in closet. “Don’t go in there.” A sigh left his lips as he followed Happy.

Just when he was about to reach for Happy, the latter pushed a pile of boxes. They came crushing down. “Happy,” he called out with a stern voice. As if he understood that he did something bad, Happy froze and looked at Jongin. “Please get out.”

Happy moved back but stayed there, watching as Jongin tried to fix what he destroyed. He picked the pieces of little square fabrics and put them back inside the box. Some books were also in there. He halted when he saw something inside one of the opened boxes. He slowly picked them. He stared.

Baby shoes?

He blinked for like 3 more seconds before a thought formed in his mind. Is she collecting baby shoes? He looked for more of them but they were the only pair in there. The box’s design caught his attention. It was of a shade of light pink and the top has a ribbon around it. Ah. Maybe she bought them as present to a friend.

Happy’s bark made him jump in surprise. He turned to the retriever. The latter gave him a look as if telling him to stop going through Minjung’s things and leave the room immediately. That’s a good idea. I don’t want her seeing me here. She might think I’m snooping around her business.

Quickly, Jongin stacked the boxes and made them look like how they looked before. He shut the closet close and followed Happy out of the room.

He looked at the clock and frowned. It’s 45 minutes past 8. He’s getting worried. The last time that she was that late, Junmyeon had to get her home. Who knows if she’s drowning herself again with alcohol, knowing that she just had a meeting with Han Taejin. Speaking of the meeting, it was totally closed off. The two of them were the only ones who talked about it in Minjung’s office.

Jongin dragged himself to the utility room and grabbed the garbage bags. Thoughts of what happened during the past days clouded his mind as he made his way down to the recycling station. He was in the middle of sorting cans from plastics when he saw Minjung’s car being parked at her designated parking area on the side of the building.

His sorting speed doubled and he was able to empty the garbage bags quickly. He then looked at Minjung’s car and saw her getting out. She had her bag on one hand and some small rolls of fabrics on the other. Just when he was about to approach her, he noticed a car stopping a few feet from her car.  

Jongin squinted, trying to get a clearer look at the man who stepped out of the car. Han Taejin. He saw how Minjung froze on where she was standing.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Taejin asked. Even from that distance, Jongin could hear the rage in his voice. “Are you going to keep this up? I’m trying to be as professional as possible here and you’re just trying to bring me down.”

Minjung looked confused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about the rumors going around that I’m treating you badly. It’s not a secret that my boss adores you. If she learns about those rumors, I’d be saying goodbye to my position.”

“And do you think I started those rumors? Do you really think I can do that? For ’s sake, I won’t allow myself to be that shallow.”