Song : Yoon Sang Hyun - Tear Stains

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“Okay, I know what’s going on here.”

The small dining area located in Jong-In’s kitchen grew quiet. Dinner had been quite lively up until Kim-Jung, Jong-In’s stepfather spoke for the first time. And the way he looked at Hyeomin made her feel uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure whether to confess on the spot or wait until he explained.

“What are you talking about,” Jong-In asked nonchalantly, taking a bite out of his food. He was much better at keeping cool than she was. That was to be expected though right?

Kim-Jung’s calculating gaze turned away with a smile of his own. It was the first pleasant thing she had seen from him that didn’t make her tense. What was even more surprising was that he started to laugh lightly. Young-ae placed a hand on his shoulder with a smile of her own, as if knowing exactly what he was thinking.

Well, Hyeomin wanted to know. She didn’t like this sort of tension in the air.

“You look like a deer caught in headlights.” He kept his warm smile as he turned back to the girl. “Calm down. We don’t bite.”

So he thought she was acting too proper? Or was it obvious that she was so nervous about tonight? She let out a relieved sigh and nodded to him, feeling a lot better since she now knew he didn’t know what was really going on.

They continued eating, swapping stories of past horrific parent meeting they had experienced. Kim-Jung, thankfully, loosened up and actually seemed like a funny, sweet man rather a cold, judgmental one. Perhaps this was why Young-ae had become so attracted to him.

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After dessert, the four decided that it was time to get ready for bed. Young-ae and Kim-Jung needed to get up early to drive home in the morning while Hyeomin and Jong-In had classes. They changed into their pajamas, did their nightly routines respectfully timed for everyone to finish without waiting too long, and headed into their rooms.

Hyeomin looked at Jong-In’s room and wasn’t sure whether or not she could sleep next to him. Standing before the bed, she looked at it. It wasn’t so large enough it would give them space but it could definitely fit two people… If they were close together. Just the thought of being that close to Jong-In in a bed made her face red.

“Hey.” Jong-In called from the other side of the room. She looked to him, seeing a bundled up blanket in his arm and a pillow in the other. “You get the bed tonight. I’ll sleep on the floor.” His voice was low, probably trying not to let his parents hear. Were the walls that thin?

He started putting his things on floor in front of the bed, allowing her to look how much he’d changed since high school. His pajama pants were baggy but she could see where his thighs and calves had grown stronger. His arms were a little more than toned now, enlarging just slightly whenever he moved his arms just the right way. His hair was waving everytime he turned, it looked just like a magazine cover.

She found herself leaning forward to look at it, when she heard the doorknob of the bedroom turning. What would they do if they saw him going to sleep on the floor? Would they think they were having problems? Would it ruin the lie?

Suddenly, she felt herself being pinned down and she closed her eyes, awaiting an impact. When nothing came, she looked up to see Jong- In so close to her she was sure if she leaned up they would kiss. Those strong arms pressed down on the bed, closing in any route for her to use as an escape. She could feel the tightness in her chest and her face turning red.

“You look so cute with that blush of yours, I could make you mine right now.”

Her eyes grew wide until she noticed the door opening. Was he putting on an act? Looking back at him, she felt his breath on her lips and she wasn’t sure what to do. All she could do was say the first thing that came to mind.

“W-We can’t.” Great, she was stuttering.

“Why not, honey?” His breath smelled like mint and his eyes were so intense, so serious she just couldn’t deal. Even his voice had dropped lower, giving it this y growl that women only read about.

“Y-Your parents…”

“Don’t worry.” He kissed her cheek, making her eyes grow wide. Was he serious? She wanted to look at the door but couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. “We can be quiet, right?”

Snap! Snap! Snap!

“Oh! Newlywed love!”

It was Young-ae. Pushing Jong-In off of her, the two looked at the woman. She had just taken pictures of them like that! Hyeomin’s face refused to cool down.

“Mother…” Jong-In glared at his mother before rising and pushing her out the door. “Don’t make me confiscate your camera.” His mother chuckled almost knowingly before he closed and locked the door behind her. Standing at the door a few seconds, he let out a sigh and shook his head. It gave Hyeomin the opportunity to crawl into bed and pull the covers over her. She couldn’t believe what just happened.

“I guess you’re not in the mood now, huh,” she heard Jong-In tease with a small laugh. But when she didn’t answer, he turned the lights off and crawled into his blanket and pillow ensemble. He wasn’t sleeping next to her, sure, but his bed smelled just like his shampoo. And she couldn’t stop thinking that he was only a few feet away.

Almost an hour went by and she still couldn’t sleep. She never slept in the same room as a guy before. After all, she had been pretty sheltered as a kid when it came to boys.

“Why did I do that?”

Wait, was Jong-In still up? Was he talking to her?

“I’m an idiot. I was really going to kiss her.”

Wait… What?!

“No, no. It’s not like I want to. It’s just… the moment.”

Hyeomin tried to even her breathing as she listened to him. Was he talking to himself or was he on the phone? If he was, then with who?

“Listen, don’t tell Krystal about this. She’d kill me.”

Krystal ? As in, Krystal, from school? Why would she do that? Were they… seeing each other?

“Thanks, man. Go get some sleep. I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow. Thank God, it’s finally over.”

As she heard that, images of the whole thing flashed through her head. She had fun with this lie. Perhaps it was because she fell in love with his family or cleaning or just being a part of all of this. She had enjoyed it a lot. Had he felt the complete opposite and she didn’t know?

“Yeah, right. Good night, bro.”

Now she was sure that she wasn’t getting much sleep. Hyeomin her side and nuzzled her head into the pillow. If she would just forget the bad things, she could move on and forget about this. But why did it hurt?

“Yeah… Krystal’s going to kill me.” He let out a chuckle to himself before she heard a shuffle on his end and then silence.

Was he thinking about Krystal that time when he pinned her down? Would he have rather make Krystal his fiancée? Was Hyeomin not good enough?

A tightening feeling enveloped her chest as she thought more and more on it. It hurt, a small twinge of pain pecking away at her. But why?

Just as she tried to figure it out, she fell asleep.

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The morning had gone by fast, the mother giggling at how tired the two look when they emerged from their room. Perhaps she thought something happened that night but Hyeomin, not being a morning person, ignored it and merely brewed coffee for everyone. Unfortunately, Kim-Jung and Young-ae couldn’t stay for it. Kim-Jung had been called in early at the office, apparently it being an emergency.

Soon after, Hyeomin left and told Jong-In she’d come get her things later on that day. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to him and she found it best not to. He seemed confused, but she didn’t pay him any mind as she ran off to class.

As she sat in her various classes, she found herself unable to focus. She doodled, surfed the net, text people, and even glanced around the room. Sure, she knew what the basic lesson was about but in retrospect, she would have to study in order to make up for the lost amount of time in class.

Her mind was elsewhere. Nowhere specific but it was obvious concentration was not on her agenda that day.

Even hunger didn’t come to her. She didn’t want to eat a proper meal. Instead, she went to a vending machine near her dorm and purchased granola bar. At least it promised protein, was her actual thought. Quickly going to her dorm, she tried her hand at her homework. Unfortunately, that lack of focus hit her again and procrastination took over.

By the time she had finished half of her work, she needed to get ready for the first day of her Chemistry lab. If her day kept going like this, she might just give up for the night.

She started changing into clothes that were suitable for lab work: long pants, not too baggy of a shirt, closed shoes, and a ponytail to keep away any loose hair strands from getting in the way. All she needed now were to put on those bulky goggles, but that could wait.

Her roommate entered then, carrying in multiple bags with someone else. Jong-In, of course.

“You didn’t come so I’m dropping it off before I head out to work.” He was wearing some odd looking uniform. Hyeomin couldn’t pinpoint where she had seen it, but it did look familiar. Still, he delivered his excuse too easily. Perhaps he had thought it up rather than show how much he was ready to be rid of her.

“Any news on your grandmother?” Was she grabbing at something to talk about? She didn’t know why she suddenly asked him anything.

“She’s doing better, actually. The doctor says if she keeps recovering, she might even be able to return home,” he said it plainly before thanking her roommate and leaving. No good-bye’s or thank you’s to her, it seemed.

“He’s a rude one, but so cute,” her roommate said with a wink.

Hyeomin merely shook her head and grabbed her things before leaving out abruptly. The pig could have at least acted grateful about the whole thing. She didn’t have to do it, after all. It had been a favor. But I guess that didn’t matter.

Storming through the campus, she found her way to the science lab building and followed her schedule to the room number. Inside, a few classmates were already getting situated and the professor was writing something on the dry erase board. She went inside and stopped at the first section she saw that was open. Most people had already paired off, probably with people they already knew pretty well.

As she started pulling out her lab guide and goggles, she looked to the person next to her. It was none other than the valedictorian of her graduating class. “Choi Minho !”

He looked up from his work and immediately smiled at her. “Hyeomin! I didn’t know that you liked Chemistry.” The warmth that radiated from him was so much nicer than dealing with that mean old Jong-In.

“I’m actually not taking this because I like it. It looks fun, though.” She said as she looked at the board and noted their beginning exercise. She quickly flipped to the page and started answering it to the best of her ability. Taking Physics rather than Chemistry in high school, she got most of what was being asked.

“Oh, right.” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly before doing his work as well. “I’m actually pre-med, so I’m supposed to take it. When I took Chemistry in my senior year, I liked it well enough. Too bad we didn’t have enough to take the test. Perhaps I could have skipped this.” He chuckled lightly, obviously thankful for the conversation partner.

“If you had done that, we wouldn’t be partners now would we,” Hyeomin asked as she finished the worksheet. He nodded in response just as the professor addressed the room. It was indeed true that whoever you paired yourself with would be your partner. Minho and her smiled at each other before listening to the classroom rules.

When that was finished, the professor went right to work and explained the basic lab they were going to perform. It was a simple enough procedure on reading the meniscus on a graduated cylinder. Baby stuff, really. The second stuff was using different types of scales in order to record the mass of different sorts of objects.

It didn’t take long to do when you thought about it. Minho and Hyeomin were finished in a matter of minutes while others were too busy goofing around. But that was all fine because once they turned in their recordings and were praised thoroughly by the professor, they were able to leave early.

“So, how was your summer,” Hyeomin asked as she shouldered her bag and the two exited the building.

“It wasn’t too bad. I was able to go traveling to different landmarks and even visit some very interesting museums. I even got to venture into a cave. I have to tell you, I could live in a cave if that got me away from my sister.” The two laughed, remembering how much trouble he got in when it came to his sibling.

But just remembering Krystal made Hyeomin start thinking again. Had she been second place in Jong-In’s life when it came to her?

“Hyeomin? Are you okay?” Minho had moved in front of her, walking backwards to look directly into her eyes. He knew when she was feeling down and showed his concern. Classic Minho. Why could she have played fiancée for a guy like him?

“Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. ”

Suddenly, he perked up and pointed to a little place near the school library. “Hey!” He then looked at Hyeomin with a sort of tint to his cheeks. “Let’s grab some coffee in celebration of becoming lab partners.”

It was a good idea since she still had homework to do. Besides, talking to Minho took her mind off of things. She even focused in lab because of him.

“That sounds wonderful. It’s not too expensive, though, is it?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll pay.” He offered a smile before grabbing her hand and pulling her inside.

You know that thing that we call Fate? It has a twisted sense of humor.

As the two entered, Hyeomin finally realized where she had seen that uniform Jong-In was wearing before. Standing at the counter, handing out coffee and treats, was her fake fiancé.