Song : Kim Hyun Joong - Because I'm Stupid

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“This is my place.”

Hyeomin walked into an apartment complex, a very nice one at that. The other tenants that she saw so far were that of families, couples and college students. The building was really well kept up with and the atmosphere was just calming. It even came with a swimming pool, a club house full of activities, and a gate around the whole community. It was like a little piece of paradise for a college student.

She wondered why she even accepted living in a dorm.

Dragging the bags her and her roommate packed quickly, she looked up the two flights of stairs she would need to climb. He had a top apartment with a balcony facing the parking lot. It was nice thing to dream about until you reached the stairs.

Suddenly, she felt a jerking motion from her arm and her grip faltered. A slight bit of panic overcame her as she thought she dropped her suitcase with her laptop in it. Her fears were for nothing as she saw Jong-In effortlessly hauling it over his shoulder. He was going through so much and was lying to his family. Yet, he was doing it for their happiness. He was even kind enough to help carry her things.

“Thank you.”

“Whatever.” He started climbing the stairs, not waiting for her. She quickly followed after him, moving up the stairwell with ease now. People passed them with waves and smiles, Jong-In only nodding slightly to acknowledge them before finally reaching room number 3C.

He retrieved a key card from his pocket and slid it through a card slot, making the little bulb near the knob turn green. Quickly opening the door, Hyeomin ventured into the dark apartment before closing the door behind the two. He hadn’t given her a straight answer on how clean his place was, making her nervous.

“Take off your shoes in front of the door. I don’t want dirt on the carpet.”

Just as she started to remove her shoes, he the light. And she couldn’t believe her eyes.

Clothes were scattered in the living room, even over the big screen television. Dishes could be seen on the coffee table and piling up in the sink.  It was… horrible.

“How do you live here?” She dropped her things and started examining the damage. She couldn’t deal with this. If his parents were to come, what kind of fiancée would she look like? She liked her place tidy and organized to the point of living in a place like this was unfathomable.

Hyeomin immediately went to work. She picked up the clothes and left it in a pile to take to the laundry hamper and placed the stray dishes on the counter. She paid no mind to Jong-In as he grabbed her things and went into another room. If she had, she would have seen him smiling.

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In the very little time Hyeomin had to tidy up, she did a great job. Jong-In came out to help by washing the dishes, taking out the trash, and changing loads for the laundry. In the two hours she had, the apartment was more than ready for company. Clean clothes were put away –dirty ones being washed-, dishes had been washed and put in the cupboards, and the floor was vacuumed. The place smelled of soap and cinnamon, thanks to the candles that the boy kept hidden in the bathroom.

It looked absolutely livable and the girl was glad that she was able to do so much. But she wasn’t finished. She needed to put her things in places to show that she did indeed live there. Her toothbrush was placed in the same cup as Jong-In’s, her bath items placed strategically all over the bathroom, and her clothes were put into her own side of his dresser.

And to help more tonight, Hyeomin had bought some groceries to cook dinner for that night. She was making pork chops, mashed potatoes, buttered rolls, and an apple pie for dessert. The whole plan would be easy to follow as that went along. She just wanted to stand and admire her work.

Suddenly, she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and pull her. She didn’t know where she was going and automatically balled up her fist. When she stopped spinning, she let it fly.

“Oomph!” The grunt came as soon as her fist made contact. Jong-In had been the one to do so and she felt bad as he stumbled back a little. “Man! I was just getting your attention.” He rubbed his stomach and glared up at her before pointing to the couch.

“I-I’m sorry,” she apologized almost immediately. But he pointed once again at the couch as he coughed. Following his order, she did as she said as if that would make up for her sudden attack. But he pulled her without warning. Wasn’t it better that she do that? It meant she could defend herself. Didn’t men want a wife they didn’t need to worry over?

Not that she was his wife or going to be.

This whole lie is getting in my head, she mentally groaned. Her thought, however, ceased as the young man sat next to her. While washing dishes, he had tied his hair back and she almost felt herself wanting to touch it. It seemed… soft.

“We need to go over a few things my parents will probably ask.” He eyed her warily before leaning back comfortably. His sock-covered feet rose and set themselves on the coffee table. Without thinking, her hand pushed them off and a stern look crossed her face. She had worked hard to clean his place. He wasn’t about to mess it up.

“What are you doing,” He asked with a defiant glare. He obviously didn’t like someone coming in and telling him what to do and what not to do. Too bad.

“I just cleaned this place and you’re trying to mess it up again? I don’t think so. As long as I’m here, you’re going to show respect for my hard work. Once this is done, you can go back to living in your mess.” She folded her arms in a way that said “discussion closed” and leaned back herself. An outsider might have mistaken their argument as a war, rather than an adult conversation.

But Jong-In soon left it alone with a “fine” and went back to business. “Okay, you mentioned a bet earlier with my mom. That’s how we’re going to meet up again.”

“Again?”

“Just listen.” His face turned stern before he continued. “We’ve known each other since high school. That’s not a lie. We were constantly on each other’s cases-“

“Also not another lie.”

He glared at her and she merely shrugged, pretending that her comment was nothing. It was only the truth after all.

“Anyways, we became lab partners in chemistry. We made a bet that whoever can’t stay civil loses and has to do the other’s homework for a month.” He looked her over, making sure she got the story. “While that happened, we tried harder and harder to get on each other’s nerves by constantly calling about the project, texting, emailing, etc. But it turned into flirting in a short while and we soon started hanging out. I liked you and all of a sudden, you started being mean… really mean. But I still liked you and tried to find out what was wrong. It took a while and I found out you were pushing me away because you were scared. I convinced you after a lot of persuasive action and we dated. It’s been a year since we started and I proposed last month, on your birthday.” He sighed as he finished and looked back at Hyeomin.

“Wait, wait…” She leaned forward, not disliking the story at all. It was actually quite romantic. Especially since he did the chasing. “How did you know my birthday was last month?”

That was the only question she said out of the whole story. She never remembered telling him when her birthday was. It was in the summer so most people wouldn’t have cared. That sort of information was odd to just pop up.

He turned  away and his fingers lightly gripped his pants. “Oh… Ugh, I heard it somewhere around school. Nothing big, right?”

If that were the case, why did he remember?

“But-“

Ding, dong!

The two stood simultaneously as the doorbell sounded. Moving as if choreographed, they walked to the door. Jong-In cleared his throat and gave Hyeomin a warning look before opening the door. Their set up was going to be put to the test at last.

In walked Young-ae and Kim-Jung, already glancing around the place. The mother was beaming, already smiling at the set up. “Oh, wow. Kim-Jung, we have to thank this lovely girl. Jong-In couldn’t even keep his room tidy as a little boy. It even smells nice in here.” She smiled directly at Hyeomin. The girl wasn’t expecting a hug to follow, but she returned it without fail.

“Oh, Hyeomin-ah… I don’t know how much I could thank you for sticking with my rotten boy. He doesn’t deserve such a girl.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Oh, anytime.” Young-ae chuckled before grabbing Hyeomin’s hand and pulling her into the kitchen. It was like the woman had a nose for everything. “Do you two have matching things yet? I remember when Kim-Jung and I did that. Those were the cutest days of our marriage.”

The woman continued talking about the old days, leaving Jong-In and Kim-Jung to sit and talk in the living room. Hyeomin couldn’t catch what they were saying but did hear a few things. There were words like “right, compatible, not like your mother, sweet” and other stuff. It was too hard to piece things together. All she knew was that Kim-Jung was asking about her.

“Awww…” The older woman frowned as she looked in the cupboards. Hyeomin was partially worried that Jong-In might have missed a spot, but instead found the woman pulling two mugs together. One belonged to her and the other was a part of Jong-In’s set. “These don’t match at all.”

Young-ae placed the things back before looking at Hyeomin. It was like watching gears in a clock move slowly together. She was scheming something and the girl was feeling slightly uneasy.

“Shopping! Hyeomin, we need to go shopping!” No wonder being uncomfortable made sense.

Before she could object, she heard her timer go off and quickly moved to the oven. She handled the hot trays easily and stirred her sides, her fake mother-in-law fawning over her in the background. “It smells delicious, dear! Oh, she can cook too!” When she was finished setting things correct, she was rushed with another hug.

“Oh, I hope Mari grows up to be just like you!”

A dark shadow seemed to overhang that last remark before her chipper attitude returned. Her fingers went at her phone, writing in her new blog no doubt.

Looking over, Hyeomin looked at the men. Though Jong-In had his regular smirk on, she noticed his body movements. He was closed off and wasn’t enjoying the conversation in the least. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she did.

“Umm… Honey?” Jong-In looked to her with a warm smile, making something in her jump. “Dinner’s almost ready. Do you mind setting the table?” Perhaps to avoid any trouble or suspicion, she might want to help him avoid it as well. That seemed like the right thing to do.

“Of course.” Jong-In rose and walked toward the kitchen. Kim-Jung watched him before glancing around again. Did he suspect something?

Passing Hyeomin to get to the dishes, Jong-In did something that she wasn’t sure she could have guessed. A light pressure and brush from his lips passed her cheek, automatically exploding something and making heat envelop the spot. Her face soon turned red and she pushed at him, not as strong as she would have hoped.

Looking back to Young-ae, she saw the woman trying to suppress a giggle but failing. “You two are so cute!” Was she really this excited over the two getting married? Or thinking that they were going to get married?

Minutes passed and soon, the food was served and the four were seated around the table. Kim-Jung still seemed cold while the three engaged in banter. Young-ae was very lively and took pictures of the food for her blog. Jong-In would try his best to keep his mother in check and Hyeomin kept being polite as much as possible.

So far, everything seemed to be going very well. Jong-In seemed to agree because he would genuinely smile in her direction. He even complimented her cooking, which made her blush some more. He was usually so hard to deal with but whenever he was nice to her, she found herself unable to keep from… well, acting like a girl.

That is until Kim-Jung placed his fork down and looked seriously at them both.

“Okay. I know what’s going on here.” He directed his gaze toward Hyeomin and everything grew silent.

Wait, did he figure it out that easily?