T W E N T Y – S I X

Word of the Day – “Zabaglione”

With two grocery bags hugged around one arm, Kyungsoo punched in his lock code with nervous fingers. Ra Miyoung was the first woman to ever step foot in his loft. What was she going to think? What would she say about his bedroom-not-bedroom? For him, it was a bedroom, period. But to her?

“Uhm, by the way—” he grinned. “My bedroom is open right now.”

No, that sounded terribly ual. That wasn’t what he meant at all. As expected, Miyoung squinted at him meaningfully. “I mean—okay, what I mean is uhm—” Kyungsoo stared at his gray door while thinking carefully. “The walls of my bedroom are actually like a divider? You know, so, it’s like a moveable wall that I purchased and set up recently because I have floor-to-ceiling windows and sometimes it’s too bright? Cause this whole place is actually just one whole … thing. It’s a loft—but, I swear to god it’s large and uhm … maybe not clean right now but--” He tried to explain as detailed as he possibly could but Miyoung only pressed a finger on his lip to shut him up.

“You’re nervous?” She asked, actually, it didn’t sound much of a question but an opinion.

Dammit, was he too obvious? His chest plummeted in defeat as he pressed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. “You’re … the first woman I’ve—you know, since the divorce.” He stuttered again, holy , this wasn’t how he imagined her visiting his place for the first time would be. He didn’t even have time to clean, for ’s sake.

Meowww

Chef from the other side of the door started scratching it while meowing making Miyoung look down with a growing smile. “Uh-oh, is that furry Chef?” She asked.

“Uhm, I hope so, otherwise, I probably left the balcony open and Chef invited some other cats to party and this place up with booze while I’m away but then again, we’re at the fifteenth floor so I don’t know how that’s possible? No, scratch that, it’s not possible, period. Be—because he’s a cat and—I don’t know what I’m saying.” He replied, maybe way longer than he should have. Wow, he was so nervous. He didn’t think he’d be this nervous. “I’m blabbering —sorry.” He hit his forehead before finally twisting the knob and opening the door.

As soon as the door opened, Chef welcomed them with cautious eyes, ogling Miyoung in particular. “Wow, he looks like Garfield.” Miyoung chuckled as she stepped in and as soon as she did, the cat scurried into the bathroom. “Oh—he’s scared of me.” She pouted in disappointment.

“Eh, cats are like that. I’m sorry, I know you want to meet him but he might be a little scared right now. He’ll be fine, just a little shy. Just give him some time and he’ll come out again.” Kyungsoo grabbed Miyoung’s hand and took her deeper into the apartment, nervously observing her reaction as she looked around.

Holy , his coffee table was a mess.

Holy , he didn’t make his bed.

Holy mothering , he didn’t clean the bathroom too.

What if he didn’t flush this morning? But he always flushed … but what if he, somehow, spontaneously didn’t flush this morning just because?

Wait—he shaved this morning too, what if hair piled around his sink? Did he clean it? Were there dirty clothes on the floor of his bathroom? What if he forgot to pick them up and toss them in the laundry basket?

He hadn’t washed his sheets yet either, what if it smelled like and a wet dog combined? He didn’t even have a dog, dammit.

But speaking of smell … what if his whole apartment smelled like cat and piss? Holy , did he even clean Chef’s litter box this morning?

He swallowed hard when Miyoung broke away from his grip and started exploring, her gaze all lifted at the high ceiling. For some reason, Kyungsoo lost all the ability to move from his spot as he waited for her to say something.

The thing was, Ra Miyoung grew up in luxury; she had an extravagant taste when it came to literally everything, she had that rich heiress nature—almost like a princess. And that terrified him sometimes, especially now.

“It’s actually pretty cool. I like the red bricks and the high ceiling, it kind of gives a vintage vibe to it. It’s also really manly.” She commented.

Kyungsoo proceeded to hold his breath as he deciphered the critic. “Uhm, manly—is that a good thing or?” He laughed while gawking at the messy coffee table. “Oh, come on. Are you worried about the mess? Have you seen my room when Mrs. Jung is off?” She laughed as she took off her coat. Kyungsoo rushed to her and grabbed the coat like a gentleman.

“It’s really nice. My paintings … you actually … hang them on your wall, huh?” Miyoung looked up at him with a shy smile. “And the kitchen—I could tell you’re a chef because that’s the cleanest and most methodically designed area.” She was quick to change the subject.

Kyungsoo clamped his mouth in a tight line to suppress himself from grinning like an idiot or potentially hiding in the bathroom with Chef forever. “Tha—thank you?” He managed to say before walking ahead to the kitchen to set their grocery bags on the counter.

He was severely unprepared when Miyoung suddenly started making her way towards his bathroom. “I wanna see Chef.” She said excitedly.

Bathroom. Toilet bowl. Sink. A -show waiting to happen.

Need. To. Check. First.

“Ahh—uh—okay—I’ll get him.” Kyungsoo beat her into it and blocked the door of the bathroom. He strategically stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him quickly, making sure Miyoung didn’t get a single glimpse of what was inside. He met eyes with Chef who lied down like a loaf right on the ledge of the bathtub. “Phew, it … it looks okay, I think?” Kyungsoo looked around, checked the sink, checked if he flushed—he did, by the way—and examined the whole place for any other mess that there could be.

Meowww

“Yeah, I know, you’re not comfortable having a visitor. But guess what? She’s not going anywhere because one, you don’t pay the bills so you don’t get a say to whoever I bring here and two, she’s my girlfriend so you better get used to it. Okay, buddy?” Kyungsoo responded to Chef’s whines. “You want food? Come on buddy—food?” He raised his pitch as he opened the door and tried to attract the cat out of the bathroom. He met Miyoung right outside who patiently waited while trying to peek into the bathroom.

“Ugh.” Kyungsoo sighed in defeat. “Just let him be. You’ll be here more than once anyway and he’ll eventually soften up to you the more you come, okay?” He Miyoung’s cheek that quickly got flushed because of what he said.

“You think I’ll come more than once? Cocky, are we?” She teased.

Kyungsoo confidently tipped one head as he walked past her, letting her trail behind. “I can make you come more than once.” He turned around, walking backwards so that he could see her reaction. Her cheeks turned redder, dropping open in shock and he knew she comprehended that exa