Jinhee woke up in a fog as she heard heavy foot steps moving around in her apartment. For a moment she thought about grabbing the pepper spray she kept in her nightstand but then Jongin walked out of the washroom while brushing his wet hair out of his face.

 

"You're awake, how are you feeling?" He asked as he buttoned up his dress shirt that he had worn the night before.

 

"A little tired still...did you sleep here?" Jinhee pulled her blankets up to her chin as she looked around trying to figure out where he could have stayed in her tiny apartment.

 

"Yeah, don't worry I stayed on the couch." He watched as she let out a sigh of relief at his lie and felt a little guilty. When he woke up that morning to his alarm going off, he made sure to hold onto her a little tighter before heading into the bathroom to clean up. There was a tiny part of him that wished she remember asking him to stay but figured that it would be better if he didn't say anything until she was comfortable with it herself. "I have to go into work but call me if you need anything, got it?" He walked over and kissed the top of her head and watched as he cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.

 

"It's okay, I think my mom is going to do most of the arrangements for the...funeral..." Jinhee was suddenly hit with the memories of the day before and a deep sadness washed over her. Jongin saw her smile fade and all of his insides burned to hold her until she was happy again but he couldn't over step his boundaries.

 

"Okay, just make sure to keep me in the loop. We will have dinner tonight, I'll cook."

 

"You know how to cook?"

 

"Yeah." A total lie. The last time he cooked her almost set the whole apartment building on fire. "Don't worry about it, I will send a car to pick you up." Jongin gave his signature smile and walked out of her apartment and Jinhee didn't feel as lonely as she did the night before. There was something about Jongin that left an impression on her and kept her floating for most of the day. As Jongin got into the car he had called for he immediately got onto the phone with his friend Chen who was always awake early since he was a personal trainer. "I need your help."

 

"Whose body are we hiding?" Chen's voice was groggy.

 

"I'm cooking dinner tonight."

 

"How sweet of you to ask me out on a date."

 

"Shut up, it's for Jinhee."

 

"Your fiancee that you hate? Am I missing something?"

 

"If you help me tonight I will tell you everything."

 

"Okay, you're using my love for gossip to manipulate me and it is totally working. I will be there at six, love you."

 

"You're a weird guy."

 

"Say it back or I'm not helping."

 

"Please don't make me..."

 

"I'm waiting."

 

"I love you too." Jongin mumbled as he caught the driver of the car glancing at him in the rear view mirror. Chen broke out laughing and promised to be there. "Can you bring the groceries and stuff, I don't really have any food at my place. I will wire you the money so don't worry about that."

 

"Got it, see you then." Chen hung up and Jongin decided to distract himself with emails so he didn't let his nerves about making her dinner take over. For most of the day Jinhee stayed in her apartment and was on the phone with her mom and the both of them worked together to get everything in motion for the funeral. It was hard but after contacting all of the lawyers and family members, everything was set in motion and the funeral would be in two days. Around six, Jinhee hopped out of the shower and saw that she got a text from Jongin.

 

 

Jongin was standing in the kitchen watching Chen run around with a bring pink apron on when he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket.

 

Jinhee grabbed clothes out of her closet and tried to figure out what was the best to wear. After thinking about it for too long, she decided to go with something casual. A white tee that cut off above her belly button, jeans with cuts at the knees, a cross body bag and her favourite pair of sneakers. Then thinking that she was a little too exposed she grabbed a long beige coat and threw it on over top. It wasn't anything fancy but figured it was just going to be the two of them that she didn't need to dress up for him. Around seven she headed downstairs and waiting there was a black car that she recognized from the night before that brought her to get her makeover.

 

 

Jongin got the next text and started to run around with Chen to get things ready.

"She's gonna be here soon, hurry up!" Jongin yelled from the dining area. Chen walked out of the kitchen wearing his apron and a pair of tongs in his hands, snapping them in Jongin's direction.

 

"Don't give me that attitude mister. I'm helping you don't forget."

 

"You're right...sorry." Jongin sheepishly apologized and Chen went back into the kitchen to finish up. Seeing that he was no help Jongin decided to get into the shower since he didn't get one that morning. He walked back out into the main area of the apartment about twenty minutes later wearing light washed jeans and a baggy black shirt that he tucked into the front. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Jongin froze. Chen slowly stepped out of the kitchen with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open. The two men looked at each other and there was another knock. Chen rolled his eyes and slipped off the apron and handed Jongin the tongs as he walked by to get to the door. When Chen answered the door Jinhee stood there for a second, completely confused and even stepped back to make sure she was at the right address.

 

"What a pair." Chen laughed and then held out his hand. "I'm Jongin's best friend Kim Jongdae but everyone calls me Chen." They shook hands and Chen dragged her into the apartment. "I was just visiting our lovely boy to make sure he wasn't lying about how beautiful you are. The whole time I was here all he talked about was you. 'Jinhee this' 'Jinhee that', got a little annoying not gonna lie."

 

"YAH!" Jongin yelled and Jinhee chuckled when she saw how bright red his face was. Chen winked and offered to take Jinhee's coat.

 

"I'm a personal trainer, not that you need it, your body looks incredible." Chen grabbed her arms and waist and that was when Jongin had enough and stormed over, grabbing Chen by the collar of his shirt and forcing him out the front door, throwing his shoes out after him. Chen was laughing the whole time and they could even hear him when the door was slammed behind him. Jinhee stood there like a statue while the two boys swept around her like a hurricane. When they were finally alone she looked at him and smile. He awkwardly laughed and ran his hand through his hair and got her a pair of slippers so she could walk around comfortably. This was the first time she was seeing him at his most comfortable and she had to admit that she like this version the best. Hair messy and hanging in his face and plain clothes that still seemed to show off that he was in great shape.

 

"Sorry about Chen, his personality is...a lot." Jongin cleared his throat and guided her into the apartment and Jinhee's mouth hung open as she looked around. Everything is the best of the best. Her whole apartment could fit into his living room area and she started to feel a little ashamed at having him over the night before when he was used to living like royalty.

 

"Your place is amazing." She spun around to make sure she got a good look at everything. Jongin hummed and looked around with her, wondering if he had cleaned up enough.

 

"Hungry? Dinner is ready." Jongin brought her over to the dining table and pulled out a chair which she sat in. He ran into the kitchen and after a few loud crashes, he came out with two plates with rice, japanese curry and fried chicken on top. "I travel to Japan a lot for work and really like their food, have you ever been?" He put the plate down in front of her and then took his place across from her.

 

"No, but I've always wanted to."

 

"Well you'll have to come with me next time." Jongin casually said before take a huge bite of the food and was shocked at how good it was, he had to thank Chen later. He watched as Jinhee took a large bite and her eyes grew wide with shock and then she smiled.

 

"It's great!" She happily sang and Jongin let out a large sigh.

 

"Thank God. I have to be honest with you, Chen made this. Last time I tried to cook I almost died, not even a joke. I don't even have food in my fridge, unless you count takeout leftovers." Jongin laughed and Jinhee laughed with him and rolled her eyes.

 

"I will cook next time, it wont be as good as this but it wont kill anyone." The both of them laughed and talked as they cleaned their plates of the food and even had seconds. The night flowed so smoothly that time seemed to stand still for the two of them, both hoping that it never had to end as they didn't want to have to face the reality on the other side of the door.