*~*Chapter 20*~*

 

“Yoohoo! I’m home~” I called out as I led the way into my parents’ restaurant. As usual, the place was empty.

Jae Hyuk looked up at me from the counter. He made a face. “Ew, what are you doing here?” he asked sourly. He stopped short when he noticed RM behind me and quickly bowed an awkward greeting.

“Tell Mom and Dad we’re here,” I directed as I led RM to a table.

Jae Hyuk eyed RM. I expected him to say something smart, but he just turned around and disappeared into the kitchen. A few moments later, my parents barged out of the door.

“Oh, Kyungi-ya~ You’re here!” my mom exclaimed. She stopped short when she saw my bandaged arm. "Your arm!”

I waved it off. “I’m fine. I just had a small accident.”

“What happened?” my dad asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him sizing up RM. I could tell he was trying to figure out if RM was to blame or not.

“You guys know how clumsy I am,” I replied. “I tripped and broke RM’s living room lamp when I fell.” As I said his name, I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him forward. 

RM stumbled and bowed awkwardly as he regained his balance, mumbling, “Hello, I’m RM.”

“He helped me when I got hurt.”

“So you’re the one Kyungi is taking care of?” my dad asked, still eyeing him suspiciously.

“Yes, I am,” RM replied sheepishly. 

I could see my mom taking mental notes. I’m pretty sure the first note she jotted down mentally was that Jung Kook was much better looking.

I bet she hopes Jung Kook will become her son-in-law. As if I even have a shot at dating him.

In the background, I noticed Jae Hyuk slip back behind the counter. I was surprised he didn’t want to come say some snide remark in front of RM. I mean, he was pretty snarky with Jung Kook around. But then again, RM does look more intimidating than Jung Kook.

After a couple more minutes of my parents fussing over us, they returned to the kitchen to prepare the meal. They cooked enough for the five of us, and soon we all dived into our dinner.

“I think I ate this before,” RM commented after he took a bite of the kalbi. 

“Yeah, I brought it home for you before,” I said.

“Was it good?” my mom asked eagerly.

RM nodded. “It was delicious.”

“That’s also because Kyungi can’t cook worth ,” Jae Hyuk butted in. 

There it is.

“She’s not too bad,” RM said. He caught my eye.

I fought back the grin that tried to plaster itself on my lips. I stuck my tongue out at Jae Hyuk. He made a face in response.

Suddenly my phone rang. I jumped in surprise at the sound, quickly glancing at the screen. ‘Jung Kook.’

“I’ll be back,” I said and got up. Once I was outside the restaurant, I answered. “Hello?”

“Hey, my beautiful,” Jung Kook crooned.

My face burned. “Please don’t call me that.”

He chuckled. “So what should I call you then? Bunny?”

“Bunny??”

“Yeah, because you’re so cute and fluffy!”

I rolled my eyes. Thank goodness, he couldn’t see it. “Did you finish filming today?”

“Yup! I was just wondering if you wanted to grab dinner tonight. You know, to make up for missing it yesterday.”

“Oh…actually, I’m at my parents’ restaurant having dinner right now.”

“Well, would they mind if one more person joined?”

“No, they’ll actually be delighted.”

“Well then, I’ll be there in about 20 minutes. See you soon!”

“Yup, see you.” I hung up and walked back into the restaurant.

“Who was it?” my mom asked as I entered.

“Jung Kook. He said he’ll be coming here for dinner.”

“What?!” my mom shrieked, bolting to her feet, unable to contain her excitement. “Oh my goodness, we should go prepare more then!” My mom slapped my dad on the arm and then dragged him into the kitchen to help her. My dad followed, choking and complaining about how she should’ve at least let him swallow his food first.

Jae Hyuk shot RM a look and shook his head in amusement. “They act like the president is coming or something. They did the same thing when Park Yubi came.”

I watched as RM’s face fell, and his body stiffened. His eyes grew dark, and I saw a flash of pain in them.

“Do you know her too?” Jae Hyuk asked, unaware of the change in RM’s demeanor.

“No,” RM replied gruffly. He set down his chopsticks. “I’m full now, so I’m going to head home first.”

“But you barely ate,” Jae Hyuk noted.

“I ate enough. Thanks for the food.” With that, he stood up abruptly. I could tell he was trying really hard to hold it together. He bolted for the door.

“I’ll be back,” I said and chased after him. RM was already halfway across the parking lot. “RM, wait!” I called. “Let’s go together!”

He turned around abruptly. His face was screwed up, as if in pain. Tears brimmed in his eyes, and I could tell he was trying really hard to hold them back.

“I’m so sorry about that,” I apologized. “I really didn’t think her name would come up.”

“It’s okay, Kyungi. It’s nothing you could’ve controlled.”

“Come on, let’s go home together,” I offered.

“No, I can go by myself. Anyways, your parents are expecting Jung Kook.”

Oh…right…Jung Kook…

I bit my bottom lip. “But I don’t want you to be alone…”

“I’m not going to revert back.”

I paused. 

When he saw my hesitation, he scoffed and looked away. “I do want to break something though,” he muttered.

“You can break Jae Hyuk’s nose,” I piped up. “He has it coming anyways.”

RM’s eyes softened. “I’ll be fine, Kyungi. I’ll wait for you at home.” With that, he turned and made his way to the road. I watched with a heavy heart as he flagged down a cab and got in without a second glance in my direction.

I let out a heavy sigh and turned back to the restaurant.

“What’s with him?” Jae Huyk asked once I returned.

“His heart is acting up,” I explained.

“Oh~ right, his heart problem.” Jae Hyuk said with a small pout. “Shouldn’t you be with him then? On second thought,” he rambled on, “I’m surprised he’s still alive. You make such a horrible caretaker. I would never trust you with my life if I was him.”

I glared at him but didn’t say a thing as I looked back over my shoulder in the direction where RM had gone. “I’ll go say ‘bye to Mom and Dad,” I said at last. 

As I made my way to the kitchen, I heard Jae Hyuk mumbled under his breath, “Is no one really going to eat all this food?”

When I entered the kitchen, Mom and Dad were buzzing about.

“I have to go,” I called over the sound of clanging pots and pans.

“What? So soon?” my mom asked.

“RM’s heart is acting up,” I explained.

Dad looked crestfallen. “Alright, I understand. Go take care of him then.”

“I’ll pack you some food,” Mom offered.

“I got it,” I said as I grabbed a styrofoam take-out box. “Tell Jung Kook I said ‘hi’ when he gets here.”

“You’re not telling him you’re leaving?” Dad asked.

“No, it’s okay. He’s coming here for dinner, not for me,” I lied. After I packed up some food and bid them farewell, I caught a cab back to RM’s house. On the way home, I shot Jung Kook a message. 

‘something came up. had to go. plz enjoy dinner with my family.’

I let out a sigh as I hit send. A couple of minutes later, my phone buzzed. He replied ‘k’ with a sad emoticon. Another sigh escaped my lips as I sunk into my seat and looked out the window. It was about 30 minutes later before I reached RM’s house. By then, the sun was slowly slipping over the horizon.

I paid the cab driver and quickly dashed up the dimly lit path to RM’s dark house. “RM?” I called as soon as I stepped foot inside. I flipped on the lights and headed upstairs without a second thought. I passed by his room, with the door still wide open. He wasn’t inside. I made my way to the piano room. I stopped short when I reached the doorway. RM was standing in front of one of the windows, gazing outside at the darkening sky. The dimming sunlight painted his body into a dark silhouette.

“RM,” I called.

He spun around. “What are you doing here?” he asked, his eyes widening with surprise.

I held out the take-out boxes. “I didn’t want you to eat alone.”

“What about Jung Kook?”

I smiled as I approached him. “My family will take care of him. Come on, let’s eat,” I said as I plopped down on the floor and started setting out the food.

RM followed my lead without a word. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed him sneaking glances at me.

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head in reply.

I fell back with a heavy breath. “I swear I’m gaining weight,” I muttered as I felt gravity yanking me back a bit more than expected.

His eyes shifted to me, but he didn’t say a word.

We ate in silence as we watched the sky change into a spray of oranges and reds before darkening into purple and finally black. 

“You know, I really like these windows,” I commented, my voice echoing slightly through the empty room as I set down my chopsticks. I watched as a couple of stars popped up across the night sky. “It really gives the room such a wide, open feeling.”

“It’s my favorite room.”

“Oh, really?” I asked, looking over at him.

He kept his eyes trained on the dark sky outside and refused to say another word.

I really wanted to ask if it was because the room held so many memories of Yubi, but I knew better. It would be best to keep that question to myself.

“How long have you lived here?” I asked instead.

RM pulled to his feet. “Thanks for dinner,” he replied, ignoring my question, and headed for the door.

Crap. This house was bought for Yubi, wasn’t it?

I got to my feet and was about to go after him when my phone suddenly vibrated. I snatched it off the floor and checked the message.

‘baskin robbins’ it asked, followed by a heart and a question mark.

Jung Kook.

I bit my bottom lip as my heart fluttered. ‘sure.’

A giant smiling emoticon was his reply, followed by ‘c u soon.’

I picked up the take-out boxes and wooden chopsticks before heading back downstairs. I glanced at RM’s room as I passed by. The door was closed now.

How is he going to sleep tonight without any furniture or bedding?

I paused outside the room as I debated with myself.

Should I ask him to share my room then? I mean, he did technically help me my first night here when I didn’t have anything to sleep on.

I thought back to how he had brought me a throw pillow from the living room that night even though he had protested about me living there earlier that same day.

I lifted my hand to knock on his door, but before I could, I heard the ding of the keypad on the front door. Seconds later, the front door swung open, and Jung Kook stepped in with a Baskin Robbins gift bag in one hand. He paused for a moment, surprised to see me at the top of the stairs, my hand in midair ready to knock on RM’s door.

“Am I intruding?” he asked, his face suddenly splitting into a teasing smile.

“How did you get here so fast?” I asked, unable to hide the surprise on my face. I immediately headed down the steps to where he was.

“I was in the driveway when I texted you. Couldn’t believe you ditched me for dinner. Twice in a row, too!” he teased.

My face burned. “Yeah, well, you’re the one who told me to meet up with Yubi yesterday.”

”And what about today?”

I glanced over my shoulder towards RM’s room.

“Gotcha.” With that, he stepped inside and closed the front door behind him. “I’ll go say hi.”

I opened my mouth to warn him as he headed up the stairs, but it was too late. He barged straight into RM’s room.

“Yo! I’m—” I heard his voice freeze in midair. A loud thud followed seconds later.

I dropped the take-out boxes and rushed up the steps to see what was going on. I stopped short when I saw Jung Kook frozen in the doorway. The pint of ice cream laid on its side on the floor, having rolled out of the gift bag. RM was just standing in the middle of his room, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. His eyes shifted to me when he saw me appear behind Jung Kook.

“Is this real?” Jung Kook croaked, his voice hoarse. “Am I really seeing this?”

RM looked back at him before his gaze returned to me.

Jung Kook whirled around to face me. Tears were glistening in his eyes. “Is this really happening?”

I gulped and nodded.

A whoop escaped his lips as he spun around and leapt forward, yanking RM into a tight hug. The force sent RM stumbling back a step. 

“I can’t believe it! You’re back!” Jung Kook cried in disbelief. “You’re back!”

RM’s face scrunched up as he tried to pull out of his friend’s hug.

“Jung Kook, that’s enough,” I said as I stepped forward. “I think he wants you to let go.”

Jung Kook let out a stunned laugh as he finally released his friend. “I just can’t believe it. RM…RM is…” He looked at me, his eyes wide. I could see how absolutely in shock he was. He let out another laugh in disbelief as he looked back at RM. “You’re you again!” he exclaimed, voice raspy.

“Yeah,” was all RM could reply.