“Sung Shi Won…” I say, acknowledging her overpowering presence and worn out appearance, my shaking voice betraying the emotions that I wanted to put up.

Yoon Jae swallows the lump in his throat. The next few minutes are spent in silence. Yoon Jae holding the door open. Shi Won’s chest going up and down as if it’s her last gulp of air, waiting for something to happen. While I watch them stupidly, also waiting for I don’t know what.

“What’s that smell?” Shi Won suddenly asks.

I snap back to the present. My ramyeon. I take long strides to the kitchen and attend to my cooking.

“You walked out on Tae Woong?” I ask when we settled down for dinner.

Shi Won nods. “We had a big fight.”

She explained to me earlier what that fight is all about. My heart sinks at the thought that she’d be living here with us chances are very wide that she’ll make her move to Yoon Jae. I don’t know where to put myself in this situation again.

But then, I realize I’ve never known my place in this world.

“I hope it’s okay to both of you.”

Yoon Jae chews his food then wipes the sides of his mouth. I choose my words carefully before saying anything. Shi Won looks tense. I can see her right hand trembling.

I shrug. “It’s okay with me. As long as you help clean the house and with the expenses. But promise me you won’t drink any alcohol.”

She smiles. “I won’t.”

Yoon Jae finally speaks up. “Share a room with Joon Hee. And better behave or else I’ll drag you by the hair out of this house. Understand?”

She nods at him. He stands up and walks to his room.

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him about this.” I say reassuringly at her.

“You don’t have to be rude to her.” Joon Hee says.

We are sitting on the edge of my bed. I breathe out and squeeze my eyes for a few seconds to clear my head. Who knew Shi Won would come here and mess things up? She could’ve gone somewhere else, somewhere far from me and Joon Hee, to a place where she really belongs. I don’t want her in this house. It suffocates me to see her.

“If you only saw what happened this morning.” I answer, forcing myself to relive Tae Woong’s assault.

“Why? What happened?”

“Tae Woong came here to get Shi Won and punched me. We had a confrontation.”

Joon Hee fixes his gaze on me. He can’t believe what I just said.

“Really?”

I shift my position a bit to let him see my wounded lower lip.

“You were so busy you didn’t see this.”

“Well, you should’ve told me. I could have put an antiseptic to that.”

“Can you put some now?”

He stands up and reaches for the first aid kit on the second drawer in the bedside table. He comes back beside me.

“That would have healed easier if you-”

“Yeah, I know. Just do it, okay?”

He dabs a little alcohol on a cotton ball and applies it on my wounded lip. I jerk away a bit because it stings.

“I’m sorry.”

I snatch the cotton ball from him. “I can do this on my own, you know.”

He grabs it back. “No. I started this. I can do it.”

We ended up tickling each other when we got tired of having a tug-of-war with the cotton ball. Our laughs echo around the room and our bodies are lying on the bed. A few more strikes and we stop.

I’m lying on top of him as we catch our breaths. We don’t say a word and I hear my heart beat louder inside my chest.

“Yoon Jae-ah-”

Before he gets a chance to say anything, I put my lips on his. I feel his soft lips against mine and my hand runs from his neck down to his body. I can feel him respond eagerly to my kisses, his lips moving in the same rhythm with mine.

Soon, we lose track of time.

We are lost in our own world.

I come out of Yoon Jae’s room with a big smile on my face. The way he kissed me was uplifting. I don’t know why. His lips seem to whisper words of love against my own, echoing its way to my beating heart. He isn’t under the influence of alcohol or anything that might blur his brain. There’s a pool of uncertainty looming in my stomach. I wonder if this is the time.

I wonder if my fantasies are slowly coming true.

And if they are, I’d gladly welcome them with open arms.

I go straight to my room only to find Shi Won sitting on my bed.

“Joon Hee-ah.” I say when he comes in. I set my laptop aside and stand right away. I don’t want him to think that I’m too lax with my actions in this house.

“It’s okay. You sit down there.” He says, holding up his hand to stop me. I have no choice but to sit down.

He sits beside me. I move an inch from him.

“I made my bed on the floor.” I point at the comforter and pillows not far from his bed. Yoon Jae said I should lie on the floor.

He sighs. “This bed is too spacious, you know. We can share it if you want.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s alright. I’m comfortable down there.”

“If you say so.” He says and lies down on the bed.

“I’m sorry, Joon Hee.”

Even if I don’t look at him, I know his eyebrows are pulled together in confusion.

“For what?”

“For being here. I know I’m messing with you and Yoon Jae. My presence here is a big burden for you two.”

I flinch when he gets up and puts his arm around me.

“Sung Shi Won, I trust you more than I trust my instincts. Just stay here if you feel like necessary. It’s nice to have you here and I’ve been dreaming of this for some time now.”

His words made me smile. I don’t know how to thank him for his understanding and sweetness. I hug him tightly.

“Thank you.” I say.

He just hugs me back and says nothing.

I share the bed with him just for tonight as we talk about any random thing we could think of.