A flashy children’s show is playing on the television in the family room. Jinah is perched on her bottom in front of it, watching eagerly, her face contorting into expressions of delight at the bright colors and loud sounds. Jinri leans against the doorframe, her cell phone in hand. It’s already seven o’clock. Jinah has been fed and bathed, and Jinri can’t put it off any longer. She sighs and presses the call button.

Himchan answers after the second or third ring. “It’s about time, Jinri-yah,” he says, but she can tell by his cheerful tone that he’s not really upset with her. Not yet, at least. “I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about our plans.”

“Yeah, about that,” she sighs. “I’m going to have to cancel. I’m really sorry.”

There’s a pause, and she hates that he might be judging her. Though she doesn’t exactly mind other people judging her, for some reason she can’t stand the thought that Himchan might be doing it. “You’re bailing on me to go hook up with some stranger at a club, aren’t you?”

“No,” she’s quick to assure him, hating that she actually cares what he thinks. “No, it’s nothing like that.” She hesitates, then sighs. “I have the baby tonight. There’s no one else to watch her, so I’m stuck at home.”

“That’s it? That’s no problem,” he says, cheerful again immediately. “Just bring her with you. I’ll come pick you both up.”

Jinri is waiting by the front door when he rings the bell, Jinah in her arms, the carseat and diaper bag by her feet. She takes a deep breath, nervous for some reason, and pulls the door open, giving him a shy smile. He’s got his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his jeans, but he’s smiling too.

“Hey Jinri-yah,” he says, pecking her lightly on the cheek by way of greeting. “So this is the little munchkin I’ve heard about?” He tickles Jinah, making her giggle.

Jinri nods, brushing a lone lock of dark hair off the baby’s forehead. “Yeah. This is Jinah. Nana, this is my friend, Himchan-oppa. Can you say hi?”

Though Jinah has quite a large vocabulary for her age, she chooses this moment to be bashful and she hides her face in Jinri’s shoulder.

“She’s adorable,” Himchan compliments, grabbing the carseat and leaving Jinri to follow him to his car with the baby and the diaper bag.

“I know, and she knows it too,” Jinri answers with a wry smile, waiting patiently while he hooks the carseat properly into the backseat of his car. “She gets away with way too much because of it.”

It’s not long before Jinah is carefully strapped into the carseat and the three of them are headed back to Himchan’s apartment. It doesn’t take long because Himchan has a habit of driving a bit too fast, and soon they’re parked outside his ritzy building and they are taking the mirrored elevator up to his floor.

Himchan’s apartment is just as classy and pristine as Jinri remembers it. “This is such a nice place,” she comments, settling Jinah down on a blanket in the living room and retrieving a few small toys from the diaper bag to keep her entertained. “Your parents really pay for it?”

“Yep,” he nods, finding the remote control on the glass coffee table and switching the flat-screened television on. “They supply me with money in the hopes that I’ll stay out of trouble. It works sometimes.”

Jinri snorts, sitting down beside Jinah and absently playing with one of the stuffed animals. “That must be nice. My parents wouldn’t do anything for me.”

“They let you live with them,” Himchan points out, sitting next to her despite there being an empty couch just a few feet away. “That’s nice of them.”

“I guess so.” Jinri doesn’t really think so, but then again she’s made it no secret how she feels about her parents. She shrugs again. “I’ll be leaving as soon as I turn nineteen anyway. I can’t wait to get away.”

Himchan gives her a sympathetic smile and his hands grasps hers reassuringly. “Things will get better. I promise.”

She returns the smile, albeit only halfheartedly. A guy like Himchan, who obviously comes from a completely different background, can’t possibly understand what it’s like for her, no matter how sympathetic and kind he is.

He seems to sense how she feels, because he quickly switches on the game system that’s hooked up to the television. “What are you in the mood to watch? I have hundreds of movies saved on my hard drive, so feel free to sort through them until you find something you like.”

Jinri accepts the controller he offers her and she begins to rifle through the movies. He isn’t lying; he has an inordinate number of films stores on the hard drive. In the end, she selects one of the classic horror films.

“Is this okay to watch with Jinah-yah?” he asks, glancing down at the toddler only to discover that she is already asleep on the floor.

Jinri smiles down at the baby. “She’s out,” she reassures him, covering the child with her blanket. “And even if she wasn’t, she likes scary movies. She’s way too grown up for her age.”

Himchan laughs but presses play on the controller. The two of them move up to sit on the couch, leaving Jinah sound asleep on the soft carpet.

Jinri half expects Himchan to make a move on her despite his reassurances that he’s no longer interested in her in that way. She’s waiting for him to casually put his arm around her shoulders or hold her hand or even try to kiss her, but by the time the movie ends, he’s barely even moved from his spot on the couch. Jinri has to come to the conclusion that he was actually sincere when he said he just thinks of her as a friend now. In a sense, she’s relieved. It’s perhaps the first time she hasn’t had to put on airs or an act in front of a good-looking boy.

“Another one,” she demands when she checks the time and sees that it’s only a little after ten o’clock. Jinri is definitely not the type of girl to go home so early on a Saturday night.

Himchan chuckles at her enthusiasm, but he nods in agreement and allows her to select another movie from his extensive collection. By the time this one ends, it is well past midnight and Jinri is actually tired.

“Do you want me to drive you home now?” he offers. “Or, if you want, you can crash here for the night and I can take you home in the morning.”

If it had been anyone else suggesting this to her, Jinri would have thought that it was just a cheesy way to try and get her into bed. As it is, she’s positive that’s not Himchan’s intention, so she nods. “We can stay the night. My parents won’t care.”

That’s not exactly true, but since it’s after midnight and she hasn’t heard from her parents yet, it means that they’ve gotten trashed somewhere and won’t come looking for Jinri or Jinah until tomorrow afternoon.

So Jinri scoops the sleeping toddler into her arms and follows Himchan down the carpeted hallway to his bedroom. She doesn’t really remember it, but she thinks that’s pretty excusable since the last time she was here it was dark and she’d been very inebriated.

“You can sleep in this,” Himchan offers, handing her a worn t-shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants with a drawstring.

Jinri gently settles Jinah against the pillows, covering her up, and proceeds to change out of her clothes.

“I was going to say that you could use the bathroom to change, but I guess here’s as good a place as any,” Himchan says sarcastically when he turns around and sees her stripping to bare skin without a second thought, but he’s amused rather than annoyed.

She rolls her eyes as she pulls the soft t-shirt over her head. “It’s not like you haven’t seen me before anyway,” she points out airily.

“Fair enough,” he agrees, pulling his own shirt on.

Once they have changed into their pajamas, they crawl into bed, one on either side of Jinah. When the lights have been turned off, Himchan reaches over the baby’s head and brushes a stray lock of hair off Jinri’s forehead, tucking it behind her multi-pierced ear. “So, did you have fun tonight?”

“I did, actually,” she admits, blushing a bit at the tender gesture.

She can almost hear him smirking. “More fun than if you’d gone to the club and hooked up with a random stranger?”

“I wouldn’t say more fun,” she teases. “Just a different kind of fun.”

“Okay, okay,” he gives in, laughing. “I guess that means I’ll just have to try harder next time, won’t I?”

“I guess you will,” she grins. “Goodnight, Himchan. And thanks again.”

“No problem. Goodnight, Jinri.”