the neighbour
UNCHANGEABLEshe can tell joohyun is happy with her decision.
when seulgi wakes up, she finds joohyun cooking at the stove with a phone pressed between her ear and shoulder.
"... prefer a fully furnished apartment ready for occupancy right away." a brief pause. "yes, i've looked online but yours is the best. and i'm glad you're very responsive." another pause. "yes, we'll be driving there after lunch. expect a call from me around four in the afternoon. thank you. i'll see you later."
seulgi stares in silence. staring at joohyun still makes her heart flutters. although a huge part of her still feels empty and lifeless, joohyun's mere presence warms up something inside.
"gosh. you scared me!" joohyun jumps when she turns around to place the phone on the counter. "i didn't hear you get up."
seulgi stands there in silence, poker-faced.
"by the way, i found an apartment for you." joohyun turns back to the stove. "it's about fifteen minutes walk from my house. i know it's not that far, but at least you could still have some privacy to yourself." she turns off the stove and pours the contents into a bowl, which seulgi identifies as one of her favourite breakfast. "i hope you're okay with transferring there this afternoon?"
seulgi thinks it is perfect. her mind is already tuning to the right frequency. this is what she wants, to have joohyun around her, to see joohyun every day. it would have been perfect if it weren't for that band on joohyun's ring finger, reminding seulgi of the painful reality.
yeah. joohyun is married. she vowed to protect and fight for that marriage despite the difficulty she and her husband are experiencing.
and joohyun stayed true to her words. even after her confession about her feelings towards seulgi, they stayed platonic last night. joohyun spent the night on the couch and is always giving updates to her husband.
seulgi scoffs inside, secretly envying junmyeon for getting this woman for his wife--for witnessing this view every morning.
every darn morning.
boy, he's one lucky guy.
"seulgi?"
seulgi blinks.
"you okay?" joohyun asks.
seulgi nods.
"so, are you okay with us packing after lunch and transferring this afternoon?"
seulgi looks away and nods.
it takes a moment joohyun lets out a small smile.
"sooyoung was happy when i told her," she says, settling the food on the table. "let's eat? we still have to prepare your things so we can drive there after lunch."
without saying any word, seulgi sits down and fills her plate.
they eat in silence. seulgi can feel joohyun's eyes on her from time to time.
---
she's not sure if being around joohyun is good for her or not.
"you need help there?" asks joohyun when she noticed how seulgi's having a hard time buttoning up her flannel.
seulgi hums, her eyes watching joohyun's hands button up her shirt all the way to the top.
"is it okay if i pack only your button-ups and some of these flannels? it will be easier for you to wear as it need not go over your head."
seulgi nods.
"you honestly still look dashing even with a cast." joohyun smiles, fixing seulgi's hair this time. "this is so unfair."
seulgi's eyes remain glued to joohyun. how come the voices in her head seem to stop whenever she's around the woman?
sensing the stares aimed at her, joohyun's eyes shift to seulgi. a second later, she's stepping back, a faint blush on her cheeks.
"i... uh... i need to continue packing your things," says joohyun, fingers reaching to play with her wedding ring. without glancing at seulgi one more time, she walks out of the room.
seulgi stares at the now empty spot in front of her. she takes in a deep breath, feeling the sharp pain in her shoulder.
if breathing would be this painful, then she wishes she'd just die. like seriously.
---
they were silent during the drive.
seulgi knows she should take advantage of the situation to talk and bond with joohyun. but she can't. she doesn't have the will or energy to do it.
everything around her looks dull and lifeless. she feels empty inside. she spends the entire drive looking out the window, looking for something or anything that can make her feel.
she knows joohyun's disappointed and worried about her lack of emotion and unresponsiveness. but that didn't stop the nurse from checking on her to make sure she's okay.
"this looks cosy." joohyun walks into the apartment. she turns to seulgi. "do you like it here?"
seulgi nods. why wouldn't she like it when joohyun is the one who picked this place for her?
joohyun's smile grows wide. she turns to the landlady. "we're taking this."
the landlady claps. "perfect. thank you."
joohyun rummages through her bag. "by the way, here's the check for the down payment."
"hyun..."
"yes?" joohyun looked a bit surprised when seulgi called her.
"i'm paying for this."
"no, seulgi. it's on us. it's the least we could do for you." joohyun hands a check to the landlady. "here you go. i'll be in touch with you again next month for the payment."
"thank you." the woman bows. "so, i'll leave you to it. don't hesitate to call me if you need help."
joohyun's phone rings after the woman leaves. she excuses herself to answer it.
seulgi walks around the unit to observe the place which will be her abode in the next few weeks. there's the small living room with a comfy-looking couch, a kitchen on the side, a bedroom, and a bathroom.
seulgi goes to the kitchen to inspect the drawers. it's supposed to be fully furnished, but there's no single knife or scissors on the shelves. could joohyun have asked the landlady to remove it?
she shakes her head and goes to the bedroom. from there, she can hear the small voice of joohyun from the balcony, whom she knows is talking to her husband.
"yup... we're here now... i've already given the check for the down payment... she seems better now compared to last night... yes. i will go home soon... yeah. i miss you too..."
grunting, seulgi retreats to the living room. her eyes catch a piece of art hanging on the wall next to the couch.
it's an abstract painting of what seemed like two people standing in front of each other, kissing under the rain. lampposts were lit, and the leaves above shone brightly.
seulgi's eyes zoom into how the woman's arms were wrapped around her lover, reminding her of something and someone before.
'i always wanted to know how it feels to kiss under the rain...'
'i can wait for you as long as you want. but no matter what happens, be strong for us.'
a tap on her shoulder pulls seulgi out of the memory pool.
"hey. are you all right?" asks joohyun.
"i'm... fine." blinking, seulgi tilts her head to stare at the painting once again. this painting gives her good feelings, and she wants to stay in that paradise longer.
the silence after tells seulgi that joohyun is looking at the painting too.
after a brief moment, joohyun moves and glances at her wristwatch. "i... uh... i need to pick yerim from school. i'll be back for dinner. will you be fine here alone?"
seulgi nods, eyes still at the painting. "don't worry."
there was dead air. seulgi can feel joohyun staring at her.
"so, i'll keep going. i'll see you later," says joohyun hesitantly.
not wanting to see joohyun walk away, seulgi keeps her eyes on the painting. she feels joohyun's hesitation in leaving, but seulgi stands rooted to the ground, unmoving, as she lets the painting take her to a distant memory.
joohyun's footsteps pad away, then the door opens and closes.
seulgi stays still, hoping the painting would just swallow her alive.
---
seulgi flinches when her front door unlocks.
"seulgi?" she hears joohyun's voice.
excitement builds up in her chest. she stands to her feet to peek from the bedroom. joohyun is carrying a bag of takeout foods. she's also changed to a fresh pair of jeans and a shirt. to seulgi's surprise, there is another person in the room.
"seulgi!" yerim runs towards her.
seulgi's face brightens at the sight of the kid. she bends down to catch yerim in her arms. "hey. i missed you."
"i missed you too." yerim leans her head on seulgi's shoulder.
"yerim, careful. seulgi's injured," says joohyun.
yerim pulls back. "i'm sorry. did i hurt you?"
"not at all." seulgi smiles, the kid's hair. "how are you?"
"i got a perfect score in our quiz earlier!"
"oh, did you? that's nice."
"and then i recited a poem in front of the class... and they all clapped!"
"oh. really? is that a long poem?"
"this long..." yerim holds her hands out to show seulgi the length of the poem. "it was hard. but i'm glad i memorised it."
"wow. little yerim is so bright, huh?" seulgi pinches the kid's chin.
"also..." the kid pulls out something from her pocket and shows seulgi a heart origami. "the teacher taught us how to create a heart with a paper."
"wow." seulgi stares at the red origami handed to her. "what is this for?"
"it's for love, forgiveness, and acceptance. teacher said we can give it to people to tell them we love them and forgive them!"
seulgi smiles at the kid. "that's nice. i'm glad you're doing well in school."
"daddy says i can be a doctor someday if i keep studying hard."
"mm. and do you want to be a doctor like him?"
"i want to."
"why?"
"it's because you always get hurt because of me." yerim pouts. "i want to be the one to take care of you next time."
melting at yerim's words, seulgi pulls the kid for a hug. "it's not your fault. things just happen. but i'm glad you want to take care of me. thank you."
"i don't want you to get hurt anymore," says yerim. "please take care of yourself."
"i will." seulgi looks up at joohyun, who's eagerly looking at them with an expression that is a combination of surprise and wonder. "hyun, you okay?"
joohyun blinks. "umm. yeah. i just..." she raises the takeout bags. "don't you two want to have dinner first?"
seulgi smiles. "yeah. dinner sounds great."
---
"mommy! look! look!"
joohyun is washing the dishes when her daughter comes up to her holding a sketchbook. "hey, sweetie. what's that?"
"it's seulgi's! found it on her study table." the kid flips the pages. "look! she draws really well, mommy!"
joohyun scans the pages as her daughter flips them for her to see. "wow."
seulgi steps out of the bedroom. "yerim, don't brag about it. i'm not good. i was just randomly sketching."
"these are actually good, seulgi," says joohyun. "is this what you've been doing after i left earlier?"
"yeah. it's still hard cos i can't hold the pad in place with my left hand."
"i want to draw too, mommy!" says yerim. "seulgi, can you teach me?"
"it'll be my pleasure, little princess." seulgi bows slightly. "shall we start now with our lesson? we don't want to bother your mommy while she's busy."
yerim jumps. "yes, please!"
seulgi glances at joohyun, who's giving the same expression again as earlier.
"we'll be in the bedroom," says seulgi.
joohyun nods, letting out a small smile. "enjoy."
---
"yerim seems to positively affect her, seungwan..."
seulgi turns her head to the small window in the bedroom when she hears joohyun's voice from the balcony.
"i don't know how or why, but when she saw yerim earlier, her face lits up and it's like life has been restored inside of her," joohyun adds. "no. she hasn't been talking to me since last night. it's either she doesn't talk or she'll give me a two-worded response. but when yerim came, she's back now to her usual self."
seulgi looks at the kid sleeping on the bed and fixes the blanket over the little girl's body.
"i don't know how junmyeon will react to this. he'll be back here tomorrow, and i'm sure yerim will tell him what we did today." joohyun pauses. "no, i don't have issues of bringing yerim here. besides, my kid wants to see and be with seulgi. i won't deny her that opportunity." another pause. "yeah. i know. i just..." there's a sigh, and a sharp inhale after. "anyway, my concern is seulgi's recovery. i'll be checking on her before and after work. will you be able to visit her daily? bring her lunch or something?"
seulgi's attention diverts to the voices arguing outside the apartment room.
she goes out of the bedroom to check the peephole in the front door. and yes, two people are standing just outside her door.
"i don't want to see your face here again, you hear me?" says the woman.
"fine," says the man. "you're not even good. you're just a waste of my time and money."
"arsehole!" the woman walks back to her room and slams the door hard the walls actually shake.
since the show is over, seulgi steps back into the living room and sees joohyun.
"that must have been the masseuse tenant the landlady was talking about," says joohyun.
"masseuse?"
"yeah. her room is right next to ours... i meant, yours. the landlady told me this woman brings a lot of her clients for private massage."
"oh."
"by the way, where's yerim? she fell asleep, didn't she?"
"she did."
"i'm sorry if she's talking a portion of your bed."
"it's fine. are you two staying for the night?"
joohyun looks at her watch and sighs. "it's past yerim's bedtime, and i wouldn't want to wake her up. will it be all right with you if we stay here? we'll leave early so we can go home to prepare for school and work."
"yeah. sure. you're the one paying for this place so you can do anything you like. would you like to take the room? the couch looks comfy to me," says seulgi.
joohyun shakes her head. "no. you're still injured. you sleep beside yerim tonight. i'll take the couch."
"okay." seulgi nods. "i'll go to bed now."
"go ahead. goodnight."
"likewise, hyun."
"um. seulgi?"
"yeah?"
joohyun doesn't speak right away. but she's giving that look, the look seulgi knows meant only for her. "i'm glad you're getting better now."
not knowing what to say, seulgi just nods and continues walking to the bedroom.
---
it's around ten in the morning, and seulgi's starting to get bored.
her creative juices are depleted at the moment, and nothing on tv is interesting enough to watch. seungwan will come around lunchtime with some food.
while waiting, she steps out of the room to stare at the parking lot and the people below.
nothing is going on in her mind now. no voices. no pain. nothing. for the first time in days, she was finally able to get a full sleep last night.
she turns her head to the side when the door to her neighbour room creaks open. a tall long-haired woman in black shorts and a tank top steps out, a phone against her ear.
"... okay, can you hear me better now? yeah. i'm available today. what time would you want me there?"
the woman stands near seulgi, an arm over the railing. seulgi looks away when the woman glances at her.
"got that," says the woman. "just to clarify, it'll be pure massage, okay? no stuff at all. cool. see you in the afternoon."
seulgi had to repress a chuckle from coming out.
"hi, neighbour," says the woman. "were you the one who transferred here yesterday?"
seulgi nods. "yes."
"what happened to your arm?"
"accident." seulgi touches her shoulder. "the cast extends to the arm for quicker healing."
the woman stares at seulgi intently. "is it just me or you look familiar?" the woman stares longer, her eyes squinting. she finally covers with a hand. "oh, my gosh! you're not kang seulgi, are you?"
seulgi smiles and blushes.
"my goodness! what did i do to deserve a talk with you today?" the woman offers her hand. "it's a pleasure to be neighbours with you!"
"pleasure's all mine." seulgi shakes the woman's hand. "i believe you haven't mentioned your name yet."
the woman smiles widely. "it's sunmi. my name is lee sunmi."
in case you missed reading the foreword, this is a sequel story. if you haven't read untouchable yet, i suggest you go over that before proceeding with this.
enjoy!
enjoy!
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