T H I R T Y – N I N E

Word of the Day – “Bain-marie”

Kyungsoo was awakened by a warm force on his chest. Slap. Slap. Slap. He fluttered his eyes open to see Miyoung’s grinning face, belatedly realizing that the said woman was hovering right on top of him while drumming his chest. “What the fu—”

“Ahhh! Kyungsoo, I got a job! Oh my god!” Miyoung shrieked as she proceeded to shake and slap him out of joy. After she seemed satisfied with the slapping fiasco, she got off of him and started hopping right on the bed like a child. “Oh god—my head—stop jumping—stop!” Kyungsoo struggled to sit up, unsuccessfully reaching for her leg to stop her. Miyoung did one last high jump before bouncing down the bed right in front of him, still with that same grin on her.

Kyungsoo’s heart melted as he looked at her in awe. “Really? You got one?” He asked and slipped a hand on her cheek, feeling proud of her right away.

It did take her approximately two months to do so but nevertheless, he was happy for her. Miyoung eagerly nodded while leaning more on his hand. “It’s like an early Christmas gift to myself, right? I’m so sorry it took this long but aren’t you happy? I can move out and finally get my own place.” She proudly claimed while flipping her own hair.

As much as he could, Kyungsoo tried to hide the disappointment on his face. Oh, right. That was the agreement. She was gonna leave once she found a job. After two months of enjoying her company every single day aside from being so busy with the restaurant thingy, it had completely slipped his mind that this was eventually going to happen.

No more Ra Miyoung every morning to wake him up in such interesting ways. No more sleeping Ra Miyoung on his bed when he got home after a long day of meeting with his lawyer and some contractors who were working on his restaurant. No more Ra Miyoung attempting to cook him some fried eggs that had shells on them—he never told her and always ate the shells so that she didn’t blame herself.

Last but certainly not least, no more Ra Miyoung talking on and on and on about the most random and silliest topics every night just before they went to bed. It was like a bedtime story for him. Her voice. Her smile. Her laughter. Her eyes glittering against the moonlight when she turned to him waiting for his reaction when she said something stupid.

He didn’t expect it but … he loved living with her.

“That’s amazing!” Kyungsoo pressed her cheeks closer together until her lips were all squished. Miyoung squirmed away from his hands and nodded. “Yes, but of course, you have to give me some time. I still need to make enough money to save up and then look for a place of my own. Is that okay? I know it’s been two months and it took me much longer than planned, but would that be fine for you?” She asked, obviously concerned.

In a perfect world, Kyungsoo would just say ‘ it, let’s just keep living together.’ but he knew how much she needed this. She needed to grow. She needed to enjoy her adulthood the right way. She needed to learn how to figure out life on her own.

Without him.

“Okay, so this job,” Miyoung adjusted herself on the bed while brushing her hair with her fingers. “It’s at an art gallery assistant job. Now, I’m mostly going to be inside the offices—you know; paper works, getting coffees for the executives and just overall clerical tasks. But!” She raised her index finger to make a point. “If I do good enough in a year, they said I could be transferred to the art classes they offer, mostly for children, as an instructor! Since I have experience in that field too.” She explained and applauded her own story.

“Uh-oh, you’re gonna work with children? Can you handle that?” Kyungsoo laughed while raising an eyebrow. He slipped a hand on her neck before pressing their lips together for a chaste kiss. Miyoung broke away from the kiss and giggled before bumping their foreheads together. “Children should be easy, I don’t mind. They will have adults there too. Anyway, we’re talking a year from now. A lot of things could happen in a year.” She argued back.

Kyungsoo got off the bed and took off his plain white shirt. “Yeah, like children of your own, I’d say?” He joked and received a slap on his just before he could run away. “Ugh, you keep hinting on stuff like that lately, I thought you don’t want to have them?” Miyoung

Chef came rubbing up against his legs at the right time and he picked the cat up. “Good morning, my prince, are you hungry? Do you want yummies already? Aww, you’re so sweet—” Kyungsoo looked at Miyoung again and smiled softly. “I mean, I don’t know, the idea of them still terrifies me but then again … aren’t we all first-timers in that area at one point? We all get terrified in the beginning.” He kissed Chef on the head a couple of times before putting him down. “You just need to find that person you don’t mind getting terrified with … when it does happen.” He fought back the smile on his lips as he caught a glimpse of Miyoung’s reddened cheeks.

“Anyway,” He threw his shirt on the laundry bin and stood at the foot of the bed. “When are you starting?” He asked.

“Next week on a Monday, I start at ten in the morning until seven.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, there was a brief pause as Kyungsoo puckered his lips while thinking. “You want to come with me today? I have someone to meet—more like recruit.” He wiggled his eyebrows as soon as he saw Miyoung’s suspecting glare. “Like who?” She asked and folded her arms.

“You’ll see.” Kyungsoo briefly replied before walking to the bathroom. “Nice you got there, sir,” Miyoung commented. He rolled his eyes as he turned to her while hopping into the bathroom.

“I know, right? Where’s yours?” He retorted. When Miyoung grabbed a pillow and was about to throw it towards the bathroom, he quickly closed the door while laughing in satisfaction. “I’m joking!” He shouted from inside and heard a sarcastic HA-HA that was followed by a grunt coming from his girlfriend.

“Who are we meeting today, seriously?”

Miyoung waited for an answer but her boyfriend only gave her a confident smile. Arriving at a seemingly rundown apartment building certainly didn’t help her in the guessing game. Was he now running some shady business to afford the upcoming restaurant? What was this place? “Are we doing a trade or something? Is this a trap house?” She leaned closer to whisper.

Kyungsoo was evidently shocked at her guess which was enough answer for her. No, it was not a trap house. Phew.

Kyungsoo jokingly pressed his knuckle against her cheek. “You’re so silly—what trap house.” He laughed before turning to the door and knocking. They heard heavy footsteps from inside and Miyoung braced herself as she stared at the floor, showing a hint of the movements from under it.

The door cracked open ever-so-slightly and a pair of familiar eyes peeked out. “Are you the mailman?” The man asked, the voice sounding familiar to Miyoung but different at the same time.

“Hi, uh, good morning. Is Byun Baekhyun here?” Kyungsoo asked. Miyoung’s eyes squinted as she looked at him, tapping him for attention. “Are you the mailman?” The young man asked again, this time, with a firmer and more frustrated tone.

Kyungsoo and Miyoung exchanged looks for