A/N: howdy doo~
sorry for the long wait. my best friend was finishing up her thesis and i was helping edit/critiquing her defense and keeping her sane.

i hope you enjoy this update(:

Jungeun is feeling much better. She’s adjusted to eating harder and more textured foods but doesn’t force herself to do so. She’s also done with her medication and has slowly started regularly working. 

It’s 7AM and Jinsol still has that alarm for Jungeun to take her medicine but she hasn’t used it in two days. She habitually snoozes it and curls back to sleep.

Jungeun sleepily turns her head towards her girlfriend. Jinsol had her back facing her. A part of her is tempted to spoon her and shower her with butterfly kisses, but another part of her doesn’t want to wake her caretaker up. 

As she slowly wakes up, Jungeun takes her time in admiring the woman next to her. From the soft contours of her body to the constant up and down of her sides, everything about Jinsol was calming to Jungeun. 

To think she can wake up like this is unbelievable and utterly unfair. 

To think she can keep waking up like this—

Her conversation with Haseul enters her mind again. 

Jungeun definitely wanted to talk about it with Jinsol during dinner, but exhaustion was written all over her face, so she decided to let it pass and maybe think about it more.

A part of her wonders if she will talk about it with Jinsol today or even this week. She shrugs it off, trying not to let it ruin her morning. 

It’s a bit too early, but Jungeun is definitely awake. 

She gives one last look at Jinsol and smiles. 

It doesn’t really matter if she has this conversation last night, today, or next week. She has Jinsol now. 

Jungeun sneaks out of bed to make breakfast. 

It’s been a while since she’s dug herself in the kitchen, so she looks through all the cupboards for available ingredients. She starts off by making oatmeal for herself and then an omelet for Jinsol. 

You wouldn’t know it’s just another Wednesday with the soft boiling of water and sizzling of eggs. 

Time is nothing but an anomaly during this quarantine and moments like this are an advantage of that concept. 

Right now, it doesn’t feel like the middle of a workweek. I’m not saying it feels like a holiday. Heck, it doesn’t even feel like morning.

It’s just a moment being shared between two people that were meant for each other. 

Breakfast is on the stove. Jungeun is here.

Jinsol wakes up to the smell of coffee. For the past week, she’s been relying on instant coffee since Jungeun was previously in charge of making coffee for the two of them and couldn’t perform her regular duties.

At first, she thinks it’s a dream. She pats around the bed, in search of her girlfriend, only to feel nothing. Jinsol sits up. It’s a little too bright for her liking, so she shuts her eyes. This only enhances her hearing, which listens to the hum of the stove hood and the crackling of breakfast. Jinsol can smell something else, but she decides that she should just leave their bed and join her girlfriend. 

She slips out of bed and puts on a jacket. Her feet lead her out the door and towards the kitchen.

To her delight, she sees her girlfriend in a high ponytail and a sleeveless shirt. Her back was towards her. 

You wouldn’t know it’s a regular weekday when you wake up to your girlfriend like this. 

Jinsol forgets tomorrow’s deadline and how she has to help pick up her coworker’s slack that is due this Friday. She pushes back the idea of needing to do laundry or buying a new lightbulb for the fridge. 

It’s just a moment shared between two people that were meant for each other. 

Breakfast is on the stove. Jinsol is here, too.

As quietly as possible, Jinsol crept up behind her. Jungeun quietly gasped in surprise as Jinsol wrapped her arms around Jungeun’s waist and nestled her head at the nook of Jungeun’s neck.

“I hope you’re not overworking yourself,” Jinsol’s breath tickled Jungeun and she was sure the little hairs on her neck rose. 

“I think lifting a pan and cutting meat is far from ‘light exercise’.” Jungeun rolls her eyes, but smiles. 

Jinsol scoffs. “How are you such a brat already? It’s only 7:30 in the morning.”

Jungeun blows air out. “Would a brat make breakfast for you?”

Jinsol just smiles. Before she makes her way to the coffee machine, she unhinges herself from Jungeun and presses a light peck behind her ear. 

The ex-patient watches her girlfriend grab a mug and smirks. “Why am I not surprised that you’re going for the coffee first?”

Jinsol excitedly pours the liquid energy into her mug. She takes in the smell of the light roast, igniting her senses. She heads to the fridge for some milk and creamer. “It’s what got me out of bed.” She pulls out her coffee additives and the yogurt that Jungeun has been eating. 

After preparing her morning drink, Jinsol stands by Jungeun again. 

“So you’re saying coffee got you out of bed and not me?”

Jinsol instantly stops sipping and stares at her. She isn’t awake enough for a comeback. Jungeun laughs as Jinsol simply hip checks her. 

It’s funny because Jungeun and Jinsol have been living together for about two years, give and take a few years when they were in college. It’s only settling in now that Jungeun thinks that she would love to have her mornings like this for the rest of her life.

The next two messages are sent at the same time. 

“So you’re telling me you were working overtime so you could go home?”

Jinsol nods while she slurps up the vegetable soup her mom gave them.

“Why didn’t you just take time off?”

Jinsol puts her spoon down and wipes . “There was a project I needed to get done by tomorrow. It would’ve been on my mind if I didn’t have a majority of it done before I left.” She folds her arms, hoping that answer would stop Jungeun from asking further questions. 

It doesn’t though. Jungeun still has a look of concern. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The elder one just rolls her eyes. “I wanted it to be a surprise, okay?”

Jungeun just pouts. “What surprise? I was worried when you didn’t come home at your usual time. You didn’t even answer Haseul’s texts.” She internally admits that she was feeling really clingy, but she couldn’t help it. 

Jinsol reaches over the table to grab Jungeun’s hand. “I’m sorry about that. I was probably driving home.

“And the surprise is all the food I made. I called my mom a few days ago asking how to cook some of the food she made me when I had my wisdom teeth extracted. She gave me a lot of recipes, but I was kinda overwhelmed, so I decided it was about time to give her a visit.”

Jungeun finally offers a smile. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Come on, Jungie. I know you’re suffering a little bit by only eating oatmeal and yogurt. Tell me you didn’t like tonight’s dinner.” There’s a hint of annoyance in Jinsol’s tone. 

Sensing how being insensitive made her girlfriend upset, she decides to shut up. She picks at the vegetables. “No. I loved tonight’s dinner.”

Jinsol scoffs before she lets go of her hand and grabs another bite. “That’s what I thought.”

There’s a pause between them. It makes Jungeun a little uneasy. She tried changing the topic. “How are your parents doing?”

Jinsol doesn’t meet Jungeun’s eyes. She tips her head to the side. “They’re doing fine. My mom seems to be worried about you, too.” 

Jungeun waits for Jinsol to continue. Jinsol usually gives a rundown of her mom’s health or maybe a new fad her mom was trying. 

And the cooking? They probably had a lot of fun reconnecting while cooking. What about that?

Jinsol just takes another bite of her vegetables. 

Jungeun decides to continue. “And your dad?”

“He’s doing well, too. I had a long conversation with him.”

…

And what was the conversation about?

“And your brother?”

“He hasn’t been to Chuncheon in a while apparently. My parents say he’s doing well though. They talked to him a few days ago.”

The brusque responses rubbed Jungeun the wrong way. It’s not like Jinsol’s spitting venom, but Jungeun wasn’t used to the passive and almost vague conversation. Jinsol was one to spill a lot of information, sparing no details, when she talked with Jungeun. Did something happen when she went home?

Jungeun purses her lips as she watches Jinsol eat. She knew she had something to do about it. “Hey, I’m sorry.” Jinsol hesitantly looks up again. She was not expecting an apology, of all things. She knew she was being petty, but Jungeun usually lets her cool off.

Her girlfriend continues. “It’s just, you’re being a really awesome girlfriend and I’m just feeling a little inferior. I’m used to things being equal between us. You know? You treat me to dinner on Wednesday and I’ll buy movie tickets for Friday. You shower me with affection in public and I’m the one who writes stupid notes and letters to you. We spend Christmas with my family and New Years’ with yours. 

“Right now, I feel like I’m only receiving and I’m at this point where I just don’t know if I’ll be able to repay you and I don’t like that. I feel like it’s going to take me years to make this up to you.”  

Jinsol laughs—maybe out of embarrassment, maybe because she’s not used to Jungeun being so vocal, especially about her. She reaches over and grabs Jungeun’s hand again. “I’m doing this because I love you, not because I expect anything from you.”

The words make Jungeun choke up a little. Her heart races and she wishes Jinsol didn’t make her feel like an adolescent falling in love for the first time. “That’s the crazy part. I don’t know what I did to deserve it or how to give back.”

Massaging her palm, Jinsol sweetly smiles. She thinks of many things that Jungeun did in the past and wonders about the future. “Jungeun, if I were injured or really sick, would you take care of me?”

She looks up to see Jungeun giving her an equally loving look. 

“Of course.” Jungeun intertwines their fingers. “You kinda set a high bar, but I’ll stay with you.”

That’s enough to make Jinsol’s eyes water. “That’s all I can ask for.”

Jungeun brings their hands to her lips. “I love you, Jinsol.”

A/N: 

omg guys. we're almost at the end T.T
im kinda sad about it, but it honestly needs to end LOL.
thank you guys for the love and support you've been giving this story <3

btw. when i was editing this, i realized that this chapter was super long, so i decided to split it up. this fic is officially going to be 9 chapters. ^^' i think you'll like the next update though! its' really cute!

stay safe and healthy!