A fresh cup of French vanilla coffee helped jolt her awake .  Last night was a complete nightmare.  Not only was she going to kill Jinnie today but she wasn’t sure how to act around Seung-ri.  He had seen her in that ty dress her sister picked out, and he was so strange.  Why did he show her his apartment? What an idiot!  Did he really think she was going to come in or something?

Today would be a relaxing day for her.  She only had to finish up a grant she was writing and all that was left was the budget.  She did not feel like going to work but had to because she had promised to fill in for a colleague who was going to call in sick today.  Her co-worker was so sick she was going to get better by going on a vacation to Las Vegas with her fiancé for her birthday. 

She would milk the budget out as long as she could so her boss wouldn’t have her do anything else.  The grant was an important one because it was nondiscretionary meaning it could be used on just about anything so it pretty much paid her salary plus seven others in the office.

She so much wanted to wear her pajamas to work but knew that was never going to happen.  Leaving her dirty mug in the sink, she slipped on a pair of gray flats to go along with her skirt.  She had added a sash at the last minute because she couldn’t find a belt.  The look was finished off with a button up purple ¾ sleeve shirt.  Like normal, she tied her hair into a ponytail and grabbed her laptop bag.

Being it was so early, she was sure she wouldn’t have to catch a glimpse of Seung-ri.  She still felt so ashamed for wearing that awful dress Jinnie picked out.  Closing the door behind her, she turned without looking and slammed into someone.  She dropped her laptop abruptly on the floor but it was the least of her worries.  She bent down to get her bag and quickly got back up.  Having not paid attention to her surroundings, her nose slammed into something rock solid and the pain shot into her eyes making her tear up.  This was not looking or feeling very good.

 “Aigoo! Your nose,” the person said.  The tears blurred her vision so she wasn’t quite sure who he was, and while she started to begin to feel woosy, she still had time to secretly hope it wasn’t who she thought it was.  The blood began to gush down uncontrollably, and her shirt started to stick to her skin as it turned crimson.

The person immediately shoved something underneath her nose and nearly covered all of her face.  She wanted to cry and whimper but was afraid to embarrass herself.  He had one arm around her, trying to steady her so she wouldn't fall.  The pain was unbearable.  He began to drag her away from her apartment door.  She didn’t know where they were going and for the moment she did not care. 

"Om-ma!” she thought.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“No.  I think I might…cry,” she managed to say.

“Just keep your head still and relax.  I’m sure it will stop in a little bit,” he sounded so concerned for her that she almost felt bad for him too, “It’s okay if you cry.” 

“Horrible night and an even worse morning,”she thought, “what am I going to do about the budget?”  Now she really wanted to cry. 

After what seemed like hours, she was finally able to take away whatever was stopping the bleeding.  She was inside the room opposite from hers.  She had hoped it wouldn’t be but she recognized the green sofa from the tenant opening the door so wide last night. 

“Green.  How tacky,”she thought.  She looked at the wad of whatever she was holding soaked in her blood and it disgusted her a bit.  It was from her nose, too. 

While tacky as it was, the green went surprisingly well with the rest of the interior décor.  The rug was black to match the trim and the walls were white.  There were green vases placed on a nearby black coffee table.  Green was tacky for her but tastefully done in the apartment.  An accent wall was actually all black with silhouettes of leaves and vines in green climbing the wall.   

Seung-ri appeared from the kitchen with an ice pack and without a shirt.  His abs were pleasing to look at and realized the reason for his lack of a shirt.  Luckily she had realized before she kept staring too long as well,  that it had likely been his shirt preventing the blood from reaching more of her clothes. 

“Here,” he said, extending the ice pack she had ignored because she eyes been busy googling his abs.

“Oh, wait,” he said realizing her hands were still stained with blood.  He disappeared and then reappeared again with a wet towel and wiped her hands clean.  He gently placed it on her nose and placed her hand on top of it.

“Thank you,” she replied.  Ji-won winced a little from the pain.   

“I didn’t want to go to work and so now I get my wish.  Fate has a funny way of making things come true.” 

“Your shirt is soaked.  Here’s one of mine.”  He threw a muscle shirt her way and it landed in her lap.

“Thanks but I’m just across the room so I think I’ll be okay.”

“No, I insist.  Do you really want to walk into the hallway looking like that?”

“Okay.  Thanks,” she replied after looking at her blood soaked shirt.  It was definitely going to go in the trash now.  In the restroom changing, she saw the result of yet another interaction with Seung-ri.  It hadn't yet turned blue but she knew from the pain it would soon.  She began to her shirt thinking how lucky she hadn't worn something that to be pulled over her head. 

Seung-ri walked out of his bedroom in the middle of slipping on a tank top and was caught off guard by the slightly open bathroom door.  Midway through closing the door Ji-won had stopped to assess the damage to her nose and forgotten to make sure it was completely closed.  Seung-ri tried to drag his eyes away but Ji-won had just slipped off her shirt.  He caught a glimpse of a white lace bra that clung to her skin and the curve of her chest to her waist.  She twisted her body just a little and her stomach but the door blocked everything else.  When it opened abruptly, he only had one arm through his tank top and the rest of it still waiting to go over his head.  He cleared his throat and quickly put it on and pulled it down.  Ji-won, unware of the invasion of privacy, thanked him and left.    

She walked out of Seung-ri’s apartment with his muscle tee on and saw the ahjumma on the way.  She was given a glare, because when a woman steps out of a boy’s apartment there is only one thing on an old woman’s mind, especially if she steps out wearing a shirt that doesn’t look like it belongs on her. She was tempted to stick her tongue out but didn’t want to cause any more gossip than there was already going to be today.

In her apartment, she called her boss and explained the extenuating circumstances that prevented her from coming to work today.  She assured her boss she would finish the budget at home, send everything to her so she could review it, and send in the grant proposal.  It really wouldn’t take more than an hour and not the eight she was aiming for if she had actually gone to work.

Ji-won sat down on her black microfiber couch and thought about what a creep Seung-ri really wasn’t.  He had been somewhat nice giving his jacket last night, but he was even sweeter for helping her out.  Then again, it was his chin she had slammed her nose into so he had to be nice. 

This was horrible.  She would have to stay home for a week or maybe even two.  She never cared too much about the way she looked but walking out of the apartment with a bruised and swollen nose was even too much for her to bear.  She tried to sniffle and it hurt.  She was afraid she’d have to sneeze sooner or later and was afraid to think about how much pain that would cause her.  When she talked, it sounded like she had a stuffy nose.  This was not how she planned the rest of the week or even two weeks.

Hours later, after sending the budget and popping three pain relievers, Ji-won awoke to the ringing of her doorbell, and then knocking, and few seconds later, banging.  It felt like she was re-living the other night again.  

“I thought you might want something to eat.  I noticed you hadn’t come out of the apartment since the whole incident this morning.”  Seung-ri screamed from outside her door. 

Ji-won got up from her couch, sneezed, and groaned in pain.  Had he been staking out her door? she wondered.  She got to the door just as Seung-ri was opening his mouth to yell some more.  His mouth turned into a smile and  he extended a serving tray with spicy rice cakes, soju, and kimchi. She tried to refuse but he insisted and pushed his way into her apartment.  She was in too much pain to really resist.  She began to wonder which he really was, a creep or a nice guy. 

“I felt really bad and thought you might be hungry.  I guess you can say this is something like a peace offering.”  He had felt a little guilty over seeing things he wasn’t supposed to see. 

 “Oh.” 

He looked around and walked to her kitchen to set the tray down.  He really did know no shame.  They didn’t know each other except for those two run-ins and already Seung-ri was acting like they were best friends.  Rather than leaving, he immediately sat down in a chair by her dining table.  Noticing how uncomfortable she was, he decided to speak up first.

 “You know, we’re neighbors and let’s forget about everything that’s happened,” Seung-ri said it with such ease. 

 “How can I?  I have my nose to prove it happened.” 

Although Seung-ri heard her answer, he pretended as though she had agreed with him and just kept on insisting that she eat.  She was still in pain but her stomach was beginning to win out.  She hadn’t eaten all day and the rice cakes sure did look good.  Cautiously, she grabbed the chopsticks and proceeded to put one after the other in .

If only I had some ramyun…

She sat next to him and kept covering her nose.  She remembered what an ugly sight it was when she was changing in his restroom and she didn’t want him to see it again.  Seung-ri, on the other hand, was really quiet and kept watching her eat.

“Stop staring at me.”

“I was only wondering if you wanted the soju?” he asked.

“No.  I don’t really drink.”

“Okay.”  He took it and poured himself a shot, “KKKKKK.”

“Thanks.  I didn’t eat all day.  I’m not sure if I’ll be eating good for a while as I don’t plan on leaving the apartment for a while.”

“That’s perfect!  It will give me a chance to make it up to you.  I’ll can bring you food every day.”

“Don’t lie.  Do you even cook?  Did you even cook this?”

“I do.  I did!  Well, I did-n’t.  I picked it up but it would be just as easy to make!”

She laughed and even forgot about her nose for a second until she accidentally snorted.  Seung-ri laughed at her and Ji-won whimpered over the pain.  It really became like last night and this morning never happened.  For Ji-won, it was almost as though he had never gotten vomit on her robe, almost.