The next morning I felt as if I had a hangover and I took my time in getting ready, moving slowly, my body aching all the way to my bones.  It had been difficult to explain my long absence to my parents, but luckily Youngmin was there and an excuse hadn’t been hard to find.  It was difficult because my father got that protective gleam in his eye and I had to make sure that he wouldn’t try to put rules and limitations on me and Youngmin.  I mean, there is nothing going on between us, so there’s nothing to worry about.  They also hadn’t noticed my split lip or the bump forming on my forehead which was a good thing. 

I worked on homework for half an hour as I waited for Youngmin to pick me up.  Since I’d be working on Korean with him, I figured I should get started on Calculus.  I hadn’t gotten very far since math isn’t my strongest area, although I’m way better at it than with Korean.  Just as I was starting on my fourth problem out of ten I heard the doorbell ring and my mother calling up to me.  I looked at my phone sitting beside me.  10:38. I smiled, grabbing my bag, and rushed down the stairs, my mom meeting me at the bottom.

“You’re boyfriend’s here,” she whispered with a grin.

I rolled my eyes.  “I know he’s here.  And he’s not my boyfriend!” I hissed that last part, not wanting Youngmin to hear.

I rounded the corner, my breath catching at the sight in front of me.  He wasn’t dressed up like he’d been last night, but he looked just as good standing by the front door with his hands tucked casually in his jean pockets, his red shirt hanging a bit loosely on him.  He was looking around and didn’t notice me right away.  As I watched him, my fingers itched for my sketch pad.  That lazy posture of his, the way his bangs fell across his dark eyes, his gaze flickering from one item to another –they all gave him a certain aura that was just…him.

Shaking myself out of those creeper-like thoughts, I closed the distance between us, saying, “Annyeong, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”

Youngmin turned his gaze on me, smiling.  But his brow furrowed in an instant.

“Why are you wearing a long sleeved shirt?” he asked.  “It’s still too hot outside.”

“I’m fine,” I waved away his comment.  “Let’s get going.”

I walked outside and he followed me.  I made it to the sidewalk and turned to him.  “Which way?” I asked.

He pointed to the street where a car was waiting.  “I figured I’d drive you.”

“You have your license?”

“Mm, no.  But it’s not too far.”

I was skeptical of his driving, but foolishly followed him anyway.  Like a gentleman, he opened my door and waited for me to get in.  Gingerly, I sat in the leather seat, adjusting my position as Youngmin went around to the other side, trying to look casual but so that it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Youngmin took his place behind the steering wheel.  “You ready for this?”

“You mean for my death?  I think I’ve resigned myself to that fate.”

He gave me a playful glare and put the car in drive, pulling out and starting down the street.  I have to admit, he was a fairly good driver –and that alone scared me.  Does he usually go out driving by himself?  Is that why he’s not so bad?  I refused to talk to him because he had this bad habit of turning to look at me when he was talking.  And since I really didn’t have a death wish, I would scream at him to keep his eyes on the road.  Eventually, I just stayed silent, letting him focus on the road.

About ten minutes later, I found myself in front of a modest yet elegant traditional house.  My eyes widened at its breathtaking architecture.

Youngmin chuckled beside me.  “Like what you see?”

I nodded.  “It’s beautiful.”

He chuckled again and reached for my hand.  Suddenly uncomfortable, I quickly took a step forward.  “Can I see inside?  Is it just as beautiful as on the outside?”  I tried to mask my action with questions.

My act worked.  Mistaking my rudeness and sudden shyness as eagerness, Youngmin smiled and motioned for me to follow.  Once inside, I stopped at the doorstep, completely in awe.  The floors were hardwood and everything was set in very traditional Korean architecture with a few modern touches.  I slipped off my shoes and stepped into the main room, turning a whole circle, taking everything in.  The floor, wood trim, and base boards were a smooth, warm reddish-brown and the walls were painted in a creamy color.  Plants, both small and large, were the main decorations.  I visited every one, lightly touching the leaves and vines and petals with my fingertips.

“It’s just like the greenhouse,” I murmured, mostly to myself.  “I haven’t been there for a while…”

“Would you like to go on Monday?”  Youngmin’s voice jerked me back to reality.

Lips quirking up in a small smile, I nodded.  “Yes.”

“Alright, but for now we need to study.”

My face fell.  “Fine.”

Youngmin patted my head.  “It’s not so bad, you’ll see.  Come on, I’ll show you my room.”

I looked around me as he lead me down a hallway and up a short flight of stairs and to a solid wooden door that same reddish-brown color carved with an interesting design.  I stared at it with an artist’s eyes, wondering how it would look like in graphite gray.  Feeling eyes on me, I realized that I was being watched.  Youngmin was staring at me with a curious expression.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he smiled, amusement flickering in his eyes.  He opened the door and stepped in. 

His room looked much like the rest of the house –traditional with a few plant decorations.  What was different was that the plants sat side to side with soccer trophies and track medals and basketball awards.  Posters of famous athletes hung on the creamy walls and a stereo rested on a bookcase that held more CDs than novels.  The room was neat and tidy.

“Are you coming in?”

My attention drifted back to Youngmin who stood in the middle of the room.  I blushed lightly –I’d never been in a guy’s room before.  Well, except for my brother, but that’s different.

“Uh, yeah.”  Hesitantly, I walked in and made my way over to the boy, still admiring the room openly.  Laughing quietly, Youngmin pushed me gently to the desk that situated in a corner next to a large window and sat me in the chair.

“Now, if you’re done with looking around, let’s work on Korean.”

I pouted.  “Okay, focusing.”

Youngmin grinned and pulled out a few learning materials from his bag.  Bringing up a second chair, he sat next to me and we got to work.  We spent the next hour going over the Korean alphabet (which totally made me feel like a loser) and how to combine the ovals and lines that were slowly making more sense to me.  At last, as time went on, I was able to write out a complicated sentence confidently and I grinned at my paper.

“I did it!” I cried out joyfully.  I lifted my head to my teacher, knowing my eyes were dancing.  But when I looked at him, I blushed, fully appreciating how close we’d been sitting next to each other the past while.  I looked back at my paper, finally hyper-aware of his shoulder touching mine, his leg pressed up against my leg, his head leaning in…

“See!  I told you you’d get the hang of it!  Now watch you go off and blow all of us natives out of the water.”  I blushed harder at his praise.  Attempting at putting some distance between us, I leaned back in the chair, my back hitting the hard back of the chair.  I winced.

And of course Youngmin just had to see that nearly invisible cringe.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Gritting my teeth surreptitiously, I nodded.  “Yep, just dandy.  Just a little sore from sitting so long.”

Youngmin looked down at his watch, thinking.  “We’ve been here for a little over an hour and you’ve worked hard.  I think it’s time for a break.”  He looked at me.  “How does lunch sound?”

Before I could open my mouth, my stomach answered his question, voicing its opinion quite loudly.

Youngmin laughed.  “Well, I guess that answers it.”  He stood up and held out his hand to me.

I hesitated, torn between wanting to resume our closeness and revulsion at that stupid desire.

“I don’t bite, you know.”  I looked up at Youngmin who had a slightly hurt expression.

Making a decision, I took his hand and he helped me out of the chair.

“I know,” I said.  “It’s just…  I’m not one for skinship.”  I shrugged guiltily.  “Not even with my family.”

The boy nodded his head in understanding, taking a step closer, a mischievous smirk curling his lips.  “Well, maybe I can change that.”

Before I could express my confusion, he leaned down and placed a peck to my forehead.  He grinned at me while I stood planted in my spot, stunned.

“A kiss to make your oo better,” he grinned cheekily and I couldn’t help but give a small laugh.

“It’s all better now,” I said, teasing, then muttered, “At least something is.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” I responded quickly.  “Let’s go, I’m hungry.”

He gave his ever-present smile.  “Araso, I know the perfect place.”  He gripped my hand firmly and I stiffened slightly.  “Come on.”

He pulled me forward and we bounced to his car.

“So, where was everyone?”  I was surprised I was just asking this.  We were sitting up to a small circular table for two in a cute little café.  I was halfway done with my club sandwich and already had had my strawberry lemonade refilled. 

Youngmin pondered that question as he chewed thoughtfully on his noodles.  Swallowing, he answered, “Appa’s at work, Umma went out for errands, and Kwangmin is with Hyesoo.”  He counted on his fingers as he spoke, as if making sure not to leave anyone out, and then paused, staring at them.  “Yep, that’s three.”

“So where are you usually on a Saturday?”

He shrugged.  “With the guys, I guess.”

“Guys?”  I knew who he was talking about, but I wanted to see what he would tell me.

“Yeah, Minwoo, Jeongmin-hyung, Hyunseong-hyung, and Donghyun-hyung.  Sometimes Kwangmin joins us when he isn’t with Hyesoo.”

“That’s a fairly large group.”

“Not really, but sometimes we can get too rowdy and Donghyun has to scold us,” he smiled sheepishly.

“What do you do together?”

“Play basketball, video games, soccer –pretty much anything to fight back the boredom that always threatens on the weekends.”  He paused and then, “What do you do?  Hang out with Ara Cha-yah?”

I shook my head.  “I usually stay at home and dr-”  I stopped myself just in time.  “Do homework, or read, or go for a run.  Sometimes my mother will drag me out shopping every once in a while.”

“Is that just recently since you moved to Korea or has it always been that way?”

I thought back to my different moves within the states.  “It’s always been like that.  I’ve never been that close to anyone to feel comfortable going on excursions on the weekends.  And I always moved before I could create any really good friends.”  I smiled sheepishly.  “I suppose me getting friends so fast here is an anomaly in my life.  But in answer to your question, I guess I’ve always been like that.”

Youngmin gave me a neutral expression with just a tinge of sympathy.  “I’ll change that.”

I gave a rueful smile.  “Are you going to change everything about me?”

“It depends.  No offense but-”

“That’s what people say when they are going to say something mean but don’t want the other person to get mad,” I interrupted.

“Will you just listen?” he chuckled.  “No offense, but you have a pretty boring life.”

I shrugged, finishing the last of my sandwich.  I sat back, but then bent forward again when my back hit the back of the chair.

“Why do you keep doing that?”

I looked up at Youngmin in surprise.  “What do you mean?”

He pointed at me, “You sit up straight as a stick, and then when you lean back, you seem to change your mind really fast.  Why?”

I looked at my strawberry lemonade in my hand, twirling the straw around.  “I don’t know,” I mumbled.

“Liar.  Something’s up.”

I lifted a disfigured strawberry with my straw and it off.  “Everything is fine.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”  He gave me a hard stare.  “Did you hurt more than just your head last night?”

I winced inwardly.  Why bring that up now?  “What makes you say that?”

“I’ve been guessing this whole time.  You wearing a long-sleeved shirt even when it’s still hot out, moving stiffly, and sitting up straight so nothing will touch your back –it’s all very suspicious.”  He paused.  “And your no eye contact is giving more away.”

I paused in my straw-twirling, waiting three seconds to gather my wits, and forced myself to look at Youngmin’s eyes.  “I am fine,” I assured.  But I must have waited three seconds too long; my eyes must have betrayed something, because he gave me a suspicious stare.  He stood up, taking my hand, pulling me to the back of the café.

“What are you doing?” I asked, feeling uneasy.

“Checking something,” he answered vaguely.

For some reason, that didn’t make me feel any better.

We were in a pantry in the back of the café surrounded by canned food and other non-perishables.  The door was closed firmly behind us, Youngmin leaning against it with his arms folded across his chest as I stood among the racks of stock.  I couldn’t help but think, Okay, this is slightly weird…

“Youngmin-oppa?” I asked, the nervous tremor in my voice barely noticeable.  “Are you sure we’re allowed back here?  What if we get caught?  I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“We won’t get in trouble.  I know the owner of the store.”

Why did that not surprise me?

“So what are we doing here?  Visiting the lonely canned pineapple?”

His lips didn’t even twitch.

“Roll up your sleeves,” he ordered.

I paused, my stare turning guarded.  “Why?”

“Just do it.”

“Why should I?”

“Are you hiding something?  Is that why you won’t show me?”

He’s already guessed.  He knows.

I cast my gaze to the side.  “What does it matter?  I muttered.

“Jin.”  My name on his lips breathed out in a sigh.  “Please?”

I attempted to fold my arms to mimic him, but winced inwardly and settled with shoving my hands in my pockets.  Youngmin pushed off from the door, slowly stepping towards me.  Although my mind was screaming to run, even though my body flinched, ready to run away, I stood my ground.  He reached out a hand and lifted a strand of my hair, twirling it around his finger.  I challenged his intense stare, his eyes captivating me more than they should be able to.  His other hand fell to his side and I felt his fingertips bush the skin that peeked above my pocket.  I clenched my fists, still holding my ground, not letting myself grow weak.  He leaned in closer and I found myself leaning away from him.  Tearing a hand out of my pocket, I held up a fist, my arm blocking him from moving forward any more.  He smirked and lightly grabbed my fisted hand, pushing the sleeve ends back with his fingers.  The sight before us made us both cringe.  On my wrist blossomed an ugly purple bruise in the shape of fingers.  Youngmin’s eyes widened in shock, horrified.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” I tried, but Youngmin ignored me, pushing my sleeve up more, exposing my entire arm, revealing the bruises there.

The boy glared at the discolorations.  “Not as bad as it looks?  Well it looks to me like it hurts like he-”

“Really, you’re overreacting,” I pushed, desperately trying to get him calmed down.

“Overreacting?” he looked at me, bewildered.  “Are you insane?  Wait, is your back the same way?”

I hesitated, not wanting to admit it, but also not wanting him lift my shirt to check for himself.  “Yes.”

He shook his head in disgust, finally letting go of my arm, my sleeve falling back into place.  “I’m going to kill him.  I’m going to find that kid and murder him in cold blood.”

“I take it back.  Now you’re overreacting.”

“Jin, this is serious.  If he is going to replace his father, then this could take that spot away from him.  He doesn’t deserve it.  Let’s face it, he doesn’t even deserve to live!  He should be locked away for assault!  He should-!”

I cupped my hand over his mouth, effectively shutting him up.  “Youngmin, really, it’s not that big of a deal.  Yes, what he did was wrong, but I smelled alcohol on him.  He might have had too much Champaign and his entire career shouldn’t be ruined because of one stupid drunken mistake with one stupid girl.”  I was lying about the alcohol, but he didn’t know that.

“What he did was beyond wrong –it was unforgiveable,” Youngmin mumbled beneath my palm.  “And you aren’t stupid.”

Sighing, I took my hand away.  “Let’s just go.” 

I took a step past him but his arm s around my waist, holding me in place.  He wrapped his arms around my middle in an awkward back hug since only his arms touched me.  He probably didn’t want to hurt me.  I felt him lay his head in the crook of my neck.  If I turned my face ever so slightly, my lips would be in a perfect position to kiss his temple.  I blushed.  What in the world was this guy doing?  What in the world was I thinking?

“Jin,” his breath blew out in a sigh, blasting hot air on my neck.  I suppressed a shiver.  “How can you be like this?  How can you be so strong and just bear everything that’s thrown at you?  How can you forgive that guy despite what he did?  How can you do this all alone?”

I felt my heart press down in my chest.  “How indeed?”  I paused, thinking about my words.  “I guess you just learn.  Bad stuff happens all the time and you can’t carry it around like a heavy weight on your shoulders, dragging you down.  You have to move on.  And it’s not fair to others to place your burdens like that on them.  That’s why I hide it.  It’s better to leave others in ignorance and happiness than to tell them and have them feel sad for me, trying to help me but not knowing how.  It’s better this way.”

“Is it really better?” he countered.  “Better for whom?”

I paused, a still silence permeating throughout the small pantry.  “For everyone,” I said at last.  “It’s better for everyone.”

“Not for you.”

Another long pause.  “That’s irrelevant.”  I pushed away from him, turning to face his sad eyes with my happy ones, a smile on my lips.  “Let’s go back to your house.  I want to look at all of those plants.  You didn’t give me very much time earlier.”

Youngmin gave me an odd look, mixed with surprise, sympathy, and…something else I couldn’t identify.  But then that expression was replaced with his famous smile.  “Araso, I’ll show you around.”  He slipped his hand in mine, watching my face, waiting for me to pull back.  I almost did, I almost took my hand away from his, but I checked myself.

Let’s go along with it.  Prove to him that I am not someone to be pitied.

Youngmin smiled wider when I squeezed his hand and he led the way out of the pantry and back to his car.

So, kind of a bitter-sweet update, especially bitter towards the end :(

Thank you for the comments! They really inspire me to write, and right now I need all the inspiration that I can get. You see, I'm having writer's block and I don't know how to coninue after this one scene... So comments are especially appreciated at the moment! Like, I am trying to find inspiration everywhere. Even while doing chores I'm like, "Hmm...how can this be incorporated in my story? Maybe for some reason I include a scene where Jin has to do dishes..." Yeah, it's that bad. So please comment! Oh! And subscribe too please!

I've also been wondering if anyone knows how to do posters and if they are willing to make one for me ^_^" Or if you know of anyone who would do one for me. Thank you!