S E V E N

Word of the Day – “Coddle”

This was definitely the last straw. Well, of course, Miyoung was pretty damn sure she had said that a million times for the last fifteen years but today was another day to say it. He had done it once again. Doh Kyungsoo was a goddamn chef, indeed. He really knew how to boil her ing blood and reduce her whole being until she was left with nothing but pure madness.

She lifted her phone higher to check herself using the front camera. She couldn’t believe the atrocious sight that was her. First of all, the black shirt was longer than her entire torso, stopping mid-thigh. Second, and the worst of all, the front had a cartoon art of a meat cleaver of some sort and the words Culinary Gangster wrapped around it in a circle.

Then, the navy-blue gym shorts could almost pass as capri pants for her. She had to pull the drawstrings all the way to make it fit her waist and triple knot it tightly that it was hanging like a sad eighty-year-old ball sack swinging back and forth against her crotch.

Last but not the least, the yellow duck boots. There was no explanation needed for this part. The only good part—more like a ing embarrassment—about this was that they perfectly fit her and she was positive that they were meant for children.

“There’s no ing way.” She shuddered in disgust as she stared at herself at the camera a couple of more times before sliding the phone back into the side pocket of the sad Capri gym shorts.  She rolled the shirt all the way up to her abdomen, coiled the fabric on her back into a ball before pushing it into the shirt to make it look like a crop top. After that, she loosened the ribbon on the ball sack drawstring. Keeping it triple-knotted, she then proceeded to wrap the remaining length of the drawstrings in a cross against her torso and tying it around her neck. The placement of the drawstrings accentuated her chest area a lot—almost like a harness bralette.

Once she was satisfied with the top, she moved on to fix the unfortunate Capri-ness happening down her legs. She folded the wide cuffs of the gym shorts on the side so they hug her legs better before folding them inwards a couple of times until she was satisfied with the length and tightness.

She finished the whole look by tying her hair up in a high bun, leaving her bangs down and some loose hair around her hairline.

The boots, well, there was no fixing that, alright.

Only using two fingertips, she grasped the handle of the door and stepped out of the portable toilet. Right away, she locked eyes with Kyungsoo who was waiting right outside, drinking in his stainless-steel water bottle. He aggressively spurted out the liquid, scattering it in the air in a mist.

“Oh.” Miyoung pointed at the ground making the man do the same. “You dropped your mouth.” She croaked before glancing up at him with a smirk on her face.

“What the hell did you do with my clothes?”

She propped her hands on her hips as she approached him. “I made them wearable, why? Don’t you like what I did? This could probably pass for New York Fashion Week, believe it or not.” She waited for him to say something more but he never did. He just looked away and went ahead into the warehouse again so she trailed behind. “Just admit it, you thought I was just going to let you win and embarrass me like that. Not so fast. Don’t forget that I have a really creative mind and you can never—”

Kyungsoo suddenly stopped and turned around causing her to also make an abrupt pause. “I do know that you have a really creative mind. It comes out naturally no matter how much you try to hide it, Sweetheart. You’re an artist and that will never change.” He gave her a crooked grin as his eyes travel down to her body. Miyoung felt the blood clumping in her cheeks once again so she pushed him on the chest causing him to stumble backwards.

Unstirred by what she just did, Kyungsoo laughed while putting back the lid of his water bottle. “Again, with the violence.” He squinted at her playfully.  “Again, just to you.” Miyoung crossed her arms on her chest, keeping a surly expression on.

Their staring game was quickly interrupted when Kyungsoo’s phone rang. “Just a sec.” He grinned as he took his phone out of his pocket. Miyoung noticed the sudden change in his expression when his eyes landed on the screen. Instead of asking, she looked away. “Ugh, just make it quick. I want to get this over with.” She hissed while sneaking a few glances at him as he completely turned around, taking a few steps away to create a distance between them.

Unwanted concern started building up in Miyoung's chest. Was it his ex-wife calling? From the way he looked at the phone, that was the only thing she could come up with. It had to be the ex-wife, right? Being the uncaring and nosy hater that she was, she trailed behind, decreasing their distance once again.

Kyungsoo seemed to have felt her presence behind him right away and he flicked his tongue. “Just a sec.” She wasn’t sure if he said that to her or to the person, he was talking to but he stretched one arm behind while wagging his hand back and forth, shooing her away.

Well, that gesture was appallingly familiar to her. He used to do that to her a lot when she was way younger and he was just starting to date his now ex-wife. A wave of discomfort, similar but stronger to what she used to feel, rushed through all her senses. Instead of shooing away, she only hopped two big steps until she was right in front of him.

His eyebrows crease at the center when their eyes met. Miyoung crossed her arms on her chest and tipped her head to one side, throwing him a fulsome smirk. “Why, what’s wrong with that house?” She listened to his words that didn’t make sense to her unless she could hear the other line as well. “No, I’m not saying that at all—I was just curious—okay, fine.” She could see irritation building upon his face as he tried to turn away from her again. She never let him win, however.

“I wasn’t being sarcastic—why do you keep putting words into my mouth?” One corner of his lips curved up into a fevered sneer. “Oh, should I thank you then? Alright, thank you for packing them all nicely for me—hey, I still bought that house for you.”

Miyoung’s mouth stretched into a tight straight line as she listened to the heated replies coming from him. “You can say whatever you want about me not being cooperative but we both know that I kicked myself out of my own goddamn house so you could keep it—I don’t care about the money! No, I w