Jisoo couldn’t sleep and kept on rolling on the couch.

 

Yes.. she doesn’t know if she’s in her right mind either..

 

She came over Professor Kim’s place in the end..

 

No one will know anyway.. and what if they know? It isn’t like they did something wrong..

 

Professor Kim was just too kind to offer his couch to her student who doesn’t have a bed to sleep on..

 

Well.. that sounded weird.. and a little inappropriate..

 

Still.. Professor Kim didn’t come out of his room again after washing up.. he must not want her to feel uncomfortable..

 

But why can’t she sleep? Why is her mind keeping her awake?

 

She sighed as she stared at the ceiling.

 

It isn’t even the first time she slept at a man’s house.. didn’t she used to sleep over Jhope’s house in the past?

They even shared the room a couple of times..

But why is she damn nervous now?

 

She closed her eyes tight.

She needs to sleep or else she will keep on thinking of useless things..

 

She was forcing herself to sleep when she heard the door to Taehyung’s bedroom open.

 

Is he still awake? Wasn’t he asleep already? Why did he come out?

 

She got up and turned the lamp on.

 

Taehyung was startled to see she was still awake.

It was past midnight already..

 

“Did I wake you up?” he asked softly.

 

Jisoo shook her head.

 

“Aren’t you able to sleep either?” she asked as she went into a sitting position.

 

Taehyung nodded.

Strangely.. he can’t seem to sleep tonight..

He finished revising three chapters already but he wasn’t feeling sleepy yet..

 

“The couch must be uncomfortable.. I told you to just sleep on the bed..” he said approaching her with a glass of water. “Have some..”

 

Jisoo cleared .

Sleeping on his bed might leave her awake all night!

 

She bowed her head a little as she held the glass with her hands.

 

“Thank you..” she said gently.

 

Taehyung sat on the floor.

 

“It’s just water.. no need to-..”

 

“For letting me sleep here..” said Jisoo lowering her gaze. “To be honest,. I don’t know anyone else.. and I told you already that I only have one friend.. so if I wanted to sleep somewhere else.. I would need to go to a hotel..”

 

Taehyung remained silent.

 

Jisoo put the glass on the table.

 

“So.. I’m really thankful.. that you helped me tonight.. I can clean your apartment for free if you want.. or you can send me on an errand.. I do errands pretty well so just-..”

 

“You have another friend..” said Taehyung looking straight at her.

 

Jisoo raised her brows.

Another friend? Who?

 

“You have me..” Taehyung continued. “I’m only your professor at the university.. but I can be a friend to you outside..”

 

Jisoo smiled.

He speaks so well.. is it because he’s a professor? 

 

“Can I really treat you as a friend when we’re outside the university?” she asked still smiling.

 

Taehyung nodded.

 

“Then.. can I ask you something?” asked Jisoo as she pointed at something in front of them. 

 

Taehyung turned his head to where she was pointing at.

 

Ooops.. that is..

 

“You haven’t eaten the chocolate I gave you..” said Jisoo pouting. “Don’t you like it?”

 

Taehyung grabbed it quickly.

 

“It isn’t like that.. it’s just.. the box looks pretty so I didn’t want to ruin it..”  he said defending himself.

 

It’s because she gave it to him.. it’s the first gift he received from a woman he knows..

Not even Lisa has given him any chocolate yet they have known each other for more than a decade..

 

Jisoo chuckled.

 

“I was just joking..” she said looking at him feeling embarrassed.

 

Then her eyes went to the picture frame just beside the chocolate.

 

“Are they.. your parents?” she asked smiling. “They look lovely..”

 

Taehyung remained silent.

 

“Do they visit your place every now and then?” Jisoo continued asking. “They must be proud of having a son who is a professor-..”

 

“They passed away..” said Taehyung looking at Jisoo. “My parents.. are no longer here..”

 

This time, Jisoo went silent.

She should sew ! Why is she asking him a lot of questions? She must have made him feel bad!

 

“I’m sorry.. I didn’t know..” she said lowering her gaze.

 

She thought she was the most pitiful person in the whole universe because she doesn’t have a father anymore and her mom is in coma but.. Professor Kim must be lonelier than her.. 

 

Taehyung smiled.

 

“Don’t worry.. it’s fine..” he said lowering his gaze. “It’s me who feels sorry.. because I prefer not to talk about my parents.. it’s just.. I still haven’t gotten over their death..”

 

Jisoo sighed a little.

Poor him.. he must be really saddened by his parents’ death..

It must have been a trauma to him..

 

“No.. it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about them..” she said smiling a little. “I understand you.. I used to be the same..”

 

Taehyung lifted his gaze.

The same? She was on the same situation?

 

“Do you remember the story I told you when I was drunk?” Jisoo continued. 

 

Taehyung nodded.

He remembers everything well..

Her friend who ran away with her money and.. her mom who is in coma..

 

“It all happened.. 10 years ago..my mom got sick and fell into coma.. because of my dad..” 

 

Jisoo took a deep breath.

 

“My dad.. hung himself in their bedroom..”

 

Taehyung’s throat moved fast.

He didn’t know she had an even more painful past..

 

Jisoo looked at him.

 

“And.. do you know why he killed himself?” she asked as her eyes glistened with tears. 

 

“It was because of his daughter.. it was.. my fault.. I did something bad.. and I.. made him kill himself..”

 

Her tears fell and she wiped them right away.

It’s true that all the misfortune she has now is all because of her..

It’s because of what she did back then that her family has been broken..

Her dad committed suicide because of her.. and her mom fell sick because of her..

She is only paying all her karma.. and she knows she won’t be able to pay for all of it during this lifetime..

She did such grave sin that she knows the gods will punish her for the rest of her life..

 

Taehyung went to sit on the couch just beside her.

 

“I couldn’t talk about any of this until I graduated high school..” she said taking a deep breath while looking at Taehyung.

 

 “It was my friend.. who helped me overcome this.. he told me it was fine.. that bad things do come to our lives and we need to face them so we can move forward.. and so.. I’m saying it’s fine if you don’t want to talk about what happened in the past.. you only need time.. and who knows later.. you might be telling all of your stories to someone as well..”

 

Taehyung tapped her back.

 

“You had it tough.. but look at you now.. you have become a great person.. Jisoo..” he said comforting her.

 

Jisoo looked into his eyes.

It was nice to hear those words from someone..

It’s been a while since she got to hear such nice words from others..

 

Professor Kim is always lifting her spirits up.. he is making her comfortable and is always helping her..

 

She was still thinking to herself when she heard him say..

 

“Do you.. need a hug?”

 

It took her a few seconds before she could understand him fully..

 

Then she smiled as she remembered she asked him for a hug when she got drunk the other time..

 

“I am not drunk Professor Kim-..”

 

“But I know you need one..” said Taehyung before gently putting her head on his shoulder.

 

Jisoo remained frozen at first.

 

But as she felt his hand tapping her arm softly, she relaxed herself and found comfort in it..

 

This hug.. she really needed it..

 

“It wasn’t your fault..” said Taehyung in a low voice. “I’m sure.. it wasn’t your fault..”

 

Jisoo heard him and smiled.

 

 

 

————————

 

 

 

 

Taehyung was walking back and forth in front of the building.

When will she come out? Did she leave already?

 

It was the morning after Jisoo slept at his place..

To be precise.. she did fall asleep on his shoulder..

Yes.. on his shoulder..

 

Jisoo fell asleep right away after talking with him about her family..

And so he had to lay her down the couch and then he left her to go to his room to sleep and this morning, she was gone already..

 

Couldn’t she have waited for him? Was she in a hurry?

And why is she not coming out?

Is she still in her apartment? Or is she in the university already even though it’s still early?

 

He took a deep breath as he stared at the entrance of the building.

Should he leave now? Maybe she has already gone away..

 

And just when he was about to turn around and take his bike with him, he saw her coming out of the door with Turtle Rabbit..

Well.. Jisoo had introduced her bike to him a few days ago..

 

“Good morning Profes