Jong In stared.

He stared at his girlfriend, his hand never leaving hers, and watched her as she bustled around the kitchen, grabbing two teacups and a teapot, her shirt sliding off of her smooth skin and revealed her bra strap which was barely resting on her thin shoulders.

He watched as the rings on her fingers moved when she poured hot water into the teapot, and it sickened him to the stomach. He watched their hands, interwoven, and how her skin was so dry… and how he could feel every ridge of her knuckles. He stared at her body, and he knew that if he lifted her shirt, he’d be able to see her ribs.

“How was China?” She spoke softly, stirring the tea with her free hand.

Jong In looked up from their hands and gazed into her large, sunken eyes. “Fine.” He whispered.

Ji Min hung her head and inwardly groaned. It was obvious that he wasn’t in the mood for a chat. “Alright Jong In, we need to talk.”

He tilted his head and gave her a curt, bitter laugh. “Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?”

She sighed. “Look, a lot of stuff happened while you were gone… obviously,” she vaguely gestured to her body, “and I won’t be surprised if a lot of things happened to you. So, we need to start somewhere.”

Together, they grabbed the cups and sat down at the dining table. Ji Min made a move to sit in the seat opposite him, but Jong In grabbed her by the waist and settled her on top of him, trying to make her comfortable. Ironically enough, she was so skinny that it was making him uncomfortable.

He watched Ji Min’s finger trace the edge of her cup and took a small sip of his. “How do we do this?” He asked. He felt her shrug. “Let’s just start with what happened with you before you went to China.”

It took him a moment, but then he remembered the phone call that some random had given him.

“Some person called me up, I thought it was you, and they were saying stuff like me treating you right. They said you weren’t coping with your schedule. They said you missed me.” He saw her hand tighten on her cup. His hand lingered at her waist for a brief moment before he wrapped his free right arm around her stomach and pressed his face into her hair.

For a split second Ji Min saw red. She had a strong suspicion that it was Sulli who was behind the call, and was just about to say that when she thought about it for a moment and decided against it. Admittedly, she was not at her best after the big fight, still recuperating from her hospital trip and then diving straight into projects and though it was inappropriate, it was very nice of Sulli to be so worried for her. Ji Min decided she’d have to have a word with her friend later and filed the reminder at the back of her brain.

Jong In poked her side, snapping her out of her thoughts. Ji Min took that as her cue to talk. “Well… I lost my phone to start.” twitched into a smile when she heard Jong In’s noise of confusion. “Yes, it was an important event because my wallpaper was of you and me kissing.” She said it without embarrassment. “I also lost it at SM… and I freaked out cause anyone could’ve seen, and that would not have been good. Don’t worry,” she quickly added, “I deactivated it that night and got myself a new one, because my flight was soon after. But I lost all the photos and stuff… just hoping that it turns up one day.” Jong In kissed her hand for consolidation.

She wriggled around to face him, looking slightly hesitant. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about.” Jong In had an inkling of what it was. She was silent for a beat before she plucked up her courage. “Krystal likes you a lot. And when I mean a lot, I mean enough for her to make my life totally miserable.” Ji Min’s voice was hard.

“Did she hurt you in any way?” Jong In said lowly, leaning back into the chair.

“No, but when we worked together for their comeback, she was just so bloody nasty. Do you know how absolutely spoiled she is?” Ji Min’s lips curled in disgust and she shook her head. “Seriously, she’s such a venomous girl.”

“I get that you two have to work together cause you’re in the same company, I really do. Trust me, there are people in my modelling company that are just as stinking as her. And I’m sure that you’re all very close, so I won’t tell you to stay away from her, but if anything, anything happens with her, I want you to tell me. Okay?”

Jong In couldn’t break away from her stare.

Something inside him clicked. It all made sense now. Ji Min was preparing for the worst; the worst being him kissing or doing something with Krystal. Jong In almost laughed at the ridiculous notion before stifling the laugher. She probably didn’t think it was all that ridiculous, but he knew that.

Craning his neck forwards, Jong In placed his lips carefully on hers, massaging her lips with his and carefully turned her around so that she was softly straddling him. His hands went to hold her jaw and tangle in her hair, as the kiss grew harder but lovelier. Tongues mashed together and teeth scraped against each other’s lips as they tried to convey their deepest emotions and fears to the other.

His mouth was wet as he pulled back. Jong In wiped her pink mouth, his chest softly heaving up and down. “Does that answer your question?” A small smile quirked at her lips and she bent down to kiss him lightly again.

“My turn now.”

The conversation made an abrupt turn. Jong In took one of his hands from her waist and slipped it under her long shirt, watching as his girlfriend blushed and looked down, her faintly curled hair draping across her shoulders. His mind was drawn back to the present when he felt bumps and ridges under his fingertips – her ribs.

Deciding he had felt enough, Jong In pulled his hand from under her shirt and his lips. “When did it start?”

“The day you found out about my asthma. The day we had a fight.” Ji Min’s answer was short and curt.

“It hasn’t been that long since I started it… a lot of other girls and even guys were doing it way before I was, but I knew it was bad. I knew it was bad.” Ji Min’s hands went to rest at the base of Jong In’s stomach. “Anorexia nervosa is a mental disorder, bulimia is pretty much the same… I didn’t want a bloody mental disorder.” She looked up, her eyes shining with guilt. “It just… it relaxes me. And it was hard not to do it because we weren’t talking… I wasn’t talking to any of EXO. I had heaps and heaps of work and it just helped me cope.” Her voice grew with a malicious edge. “It’s disgusting really, being in the fashion industry; bulimia and anorexia is seen like a kind of thing you just have to do. It’s almost as if people who work the hardest are those who take up the habit.”

“You’re going to break it.” Jong In growled, his hands now at her thighs, clenching them so tightly that they sank into her pretty much non-existent muscle.

Ji Min timidly nodded. This side, the extremely macho and controlling side, was the side of Jong In she rarely saw, let alone the public. And from her last experience she knew it was better that she obeyed him.

“You’re going to start now, and I’m going to help.”

“Okay.” Quietly.

“I will let all of EXO know about this, and we will all help.”

dropped open “What? Don’t-“

Jong In scowled openly at her. “Don’t argue with me!” He yelled, shocking her.

“… Okay.”

“You will not object when I check up on you. You will not skip any meal. You will not go to the toilet until half an hour after a meal.”

Reluctantly, “Okay.”

“I love you.”

Ji Min closed her eyes. No matter how hard she fought it, a smile still crept up her face anyway. There were times where she didn’t know how people could put so much thought and weight on the one word, but there were times where she was a hypocrite and overthought it anyway.

Now that Jong In had actually said it, it just seemed right.

“I love you too…”

Without hesitation, they kissed. Jong In’s eyebrows furrowed, physically trying to pour as much love into the kiss as possible. Very briefly, he wondered whether this was the perfect time for them to… you know, have , but then he ousted the thought out of his mind – Ji Min was still very skinny and was probably not feeling great about her body. He would wait until she was ready.

She pulled away, remembering something. “My sixteenth is in a couple of weeks. Mum and dad are throwing an invitation-only party. I could get them to invite you and EXO and maybe some other SM artists.” They both knew that meant f(X) was not invited. “My parents know a couple of people at SM… not well, but well enough that they could send you an invite too. How about it?”

Grinning, he nodded eagerly, “The guys have been dying to see you.”

A beautiful laugh resounded in the air. “I’ve missed them too. Sehun oppa loves a good party.”

A comfortable silence settled around them.

“I’m sorry I called you a kid.” Ji Min’s eyes whirled around to look straight into Jong In’s. Although it had caused their temporary separation, she had actually forgotten that he had called her that.

“It’s okay.” She offered as a quite placation.

He shook his head. “No, it’s not.”

Ji Min heaved a sigh and placed a hand on her boyfriend’s face. “Look, technically I am a kid, and sometimes I’m just waayyy too touchy about it. I’m three years younger than you Jong In,” she stated firmly, “I am fifteen and you are eighteen. The difference between our ages will never diminish. I forgive you for calling me a child, but next time you can’t bring that up as a weapon when we argue. Got it?”

He nodded.

“Good.” She glanced hesitantly at the fridge before back at him. “Food?” she nervously offered. Jong In’s smile almost split his face, and he gathered Ji Min in his arms one last time before she pulled away. Her body momentarily stiffened before she relaxed on him, subconsciously feeling the outlines of his muscular body.

“Step one, baby. Little by little.” Ji Min grinned and snuggled into the hug. She was going to be just fine.

Hey everyone!

My violin exam is overrr and life is getting better, so I hope you enjoyed this update!