-A thing called love

Jonggyu behaved really weirdly the following day. He didn't talk to me nor he wanted my dumplings again. I was getting depressed.

Today my shift was over at lunch and I walked home feeling terrible.

My father was home and scurried throughout our house, trying to search for something. But I didn't feel like helping him. My friendship with Jonggyu was way more important. I guess my father would be able to find it on his own.

Suddenly my phone rang and I saw Jiho's caller ID. I picked up quickly. "Hey Jiho, what's up?"

"Oh nothing...are you still at work?" he asked and my father gave me a crazy look when I sat down on my stairs. "No, I'm at home...and my father gives me strange looks..."

I heard him chuckling. "Really? Ah, Yeunja ah? Can it be tha-"

"Yeunja? Have you seen my car key? I really have to go to work again...I've put it somewhere and now I don't find it..." my father called out and I rolled my eyes. "Wait a second, my father needs help to search his car keys...he has some really important thing to do at work, how it seems. He's already growling around a bit." I stood up and walked into the kitchen with my phone on my ear. I looked around, finding my father searching here, too.

"So, Jiho...what were saying?" I asked, still lurking around in every corner of the kitchen and heard Jiho answering. "Uh~ never mind. Is our date still set tonight~?"

I blushed although I knew he was just being his teasing, cute self. I scratched my neck, leaning against the sink. "I-I guess so..."

"Nice," he answered, "I just wanted...erm, to be sure.

I nodded slowly. "Okay...see you then." A low chuckle was heard before he hung up and so did I. I headed out of the kitchen to check up on our entrance hall.

Rolling my eyes I found his keys next to our small drawer. I shook my head at how hasty my dad was throwing around the key when he came home.

"Appa, I found it!" I shouted over to the kitchen and he quickly came. He sighed in relief and took it in his hands.

I wanted to leave for my room but my father stopped me. "Yeunja ah? With who did you talk on the phone?"

I hesitated for a long time before answering. "Jiho...Woo Jiho...it's a friend you don't know."

"Is he...by any chance, the son of a friend's label? You know, Maho Techniques." he wondered and I gulped. Of course, the manager's surname was Woo, but there're tons of people with this surname. Me myself had four friends with this surname, including Jiho. I thought it was just coincidence.

I shook my head violently. "No...Jiho can't...Does that man's son work in a translation office in Seoul downtown? The name 'Downright Seoul'?"

"Yes...exactly there. And you know him?" my father asked once again and I groaned into my palm. "I'm not sure about this...Well, I'm upstairs."

With a confused mind I started to draw a bit, trying to ease my nerves which are attempting to believe my father's words. This can't be...Jiho would've told me. And I know this man...I never heard he had a son...or kids at all!

At once my phone started ringing. Jonggyu was calling and I picked up slowly. "Gyu?"

"Hey...erm, Yeunja? Could I meet you? Like now? As you know I could also knock off work after lunch..."

I hesitated again. "Ah...yeah, why not? At your house or-"

"Yes, yes...my house." he answered curtly and I held my stomach. "Okay...I'll be right over. See you."

I hung up, took a small old school rucksack as a bag with me and left my house, quickly going over to Jonggyu's house.

After I rang it didn't take Jonggyu a long time to open the door and I smiled weakly. "Hey..."

"Hi..."

"What uh, did you want to talk about? Or why did you want to meet up?" I asked and he leaned against his door frame, a sigh coming from his almost closed mouth. "It's...it's about the relationship between us...Our...friendship. About us."

I blinked confused, not understanding a single thing. He just offered me his hand to take it. "Come in, please..."

I warily did, scared of what he might tell me.

____

It soon was evening and Jonggyu brought me to Jiho's home with his car at sharp 7pm.

I stopped in front of his door and thought about the conversation I had with Jonggyu. It was tense and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

You know...You will always be my little princess, just-
I know Jonggyu...

I stepped closer to his house's door.

It's only about us...don't tell anybody.
I promise.
Thank you...I could spend the rest of my life with you, to be honest.

The uneasy feeling I had while Jonggyu said this sentence came back and I sighed as I rang on Jiho's door bell.

A bright smiley face opened the door and looked down at me. "Yeonnie ah! How are you?"

"I'm...uncomfortable...uneasy...all these bad feels."

He made me walk in and I slipped lazily out of my high heels.

"What is wrong?" he asked with worry in his voice and I groaned quietly. "It's about Jonggyu and me. Th-" I stopped. I promised not to tell anyone, not now, and I didn't want to break this promise.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell." I shook my head softly and he his lips. "Ehm...I won't tell."

I shook my head once more. "Jiho...Gyu's my best friend...I won't tell." Jiho looked down and shook his head. "I'm sorry I asked. I'm just so curious."

"What do you want to do?" he asked after a long pause and I exhaled. "Do you have Soju? I need...I need some Soju."

He chuckled and made me follow him into the kitchen.

"Is it like you just want to drink over the thing...with Jonggyu?"

Yeonnie ah, you know...it would've happened anyway, I guess. Sooner or later, it just would have.

I shook my head at one of Jonggyu's sentences again, yet I felt like it was the real reason for the question of Jiho.

He put out one bottle and sat down after he placed two glasses in front of us.

He poured some of it in my glass and I gulped it down, smacking my lips. "Jiho?"

Jiho glanced my way and swallowed the Soju down, too. "Yeah?"

"Is your father...filthy?" I blinked and he poured another round of Soju into our glasses. He kept quiet, then tilted his head from left to right, making it crack a bit. The silence hurt.

"He has his own label here in South Korea...It's...it's called Mapo."

"Mapo Techniques." I mumbled as he tapped my glass. "Yeunja...you're rich, right? Is your father's name Kang...Gabdo?"

I nodded and threw in the Soju. "I thought it wasn't necessary to tell you."

"I thought it was just coincidence." Jiho also whispered and I bit the inner side of my cheek. "I know many people with the surname 'Woo'...and" I started laughing. "You don't know what I heard about the son of this label's manager..."

"Wh-what?" Jiho seemed very nervous and I held my glass his way, wanting more Soju. "There was a rumor going on the son of him is...well...dead. You didn't seem to appear in the news, so~"

He chuckled lightly. "Dead...I guess I am still alive..."

I nodded, approving this fact. "Did you also hear things about me? Are people talking about my family? I don't hear much."

Jiho nodded. "Many people said you left, going abroad and study there or whatnot..."

"Tsk, they shouldn't talk such if they don't know." I threw the liquid down my throat and Jiho clicked his tongue and filled another glass of mine. "You're emptying my Soju."

I giggled cutely. "Am sorry."

"Har-har." he dryly laughed yet smiled. Jiho's smile faded as his finger grazed against the glass. "Can I tell you a secret?"

I nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"My parents hate me..." he closed his eyes and I shrugged. "Same goes with mine."

"You don't understand...they hate me so much that they don't want me live under the same roof as them...Especially my dad. He doesn't talk about me in public because he thinks of me as bad material for press. I'm his goddamn son. If he isn't proud and fond of me, he can at least kill me."

I shook my head at his words. "Jiho, no, don't think like this. You're a way too warm and lovely person...Why does your dad not like you?"

He looked down and shook his head after drinking his glass of Soju. "I won't tell you."

"You can tell me everything...I'll keep it like a stone." I smiled but Jiho just looked at me. "You wouldn't understand or worse, hate me."

"Psh." I chuckled. "I can't hate you."

A smile played about his lips. "Thank you."

"For what?...Emptying your Soju?" we both started laughing loudly and Jiho wiped away his fake-tears. "Wanna get upstairs, sitting in my room? It's more comfy than just here in the kitchen?"

I agreed quickly and Jiho took some bottles of Soju with us.

I put my glass on his night stand and jumped onto his bed. "I claim this bed as my property! It is so comfortable!"

Jiho laughed sweetly and sat down on the ground, leaning against his bed. I laid down on my stomach and crawled over to his night stand, ruffling his head. "My father only looks at Heesok...it should depress me...but I don't like attention that much either. I just lock myself in my room and draw. It frees me somehow."

He nodded, looking up a bit. "Of course...whatever you think of, you can just draw it...and well, you got some really good talent in drawing. I have the talent of a kindergartner."

"Yah, shut up! Look at you! You're amazing with languages! Is that not a talent?!" I gasped and plumped down next to him, bumping my shoulder against his, "I found you and your job amazing...no buts, just do what you want. I love what you do."

With soft eyes he glanced at me. "Thank you, Yeunja. Thank you."

I stared to long at him and pulled my gaze away from his beautiful eyes. "You're a wonderful human...don't let anybody say something else, okay?" Again, Jiho just nodded and I smiled satisfyingly.

"Hey...let's play secret for secret...and with every secret we take one sip of Soju." I suggested and he nodded, starting. Jiho took a gulp. "I'd like to change everything in my life."

I shook my head. "Why?"

He shrugged. "My life . Except for the part where I met you." he peeked over to me and I held my chest, fake-sobbing. "I feel so honored hearing that from Woo Jiho."

"You better should...Your turn." Jiho pointed at my glass and I swallowed the liquid down. "Hmm...in school I had no friends except for Jonggyu...honestly."

Jiho looked kind of shocked. "Seriously? You can't!"

I shrugged my shoulders carelessly and he sighed a long one. "I'm no friend of yours?"

Smiling I just nodded. "Go on..."

"You're rea-"

"I meant with the secrets~" I giggled, the alcohol kicking in. He scratched his head and looked away. "Oh, alright, okay."

  AUTHOR NOTE;   the next chappy will be about the day afterwards :3

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