“Let me tidy up my room first,” Chunji immediately got up as soon as Jiyoon decided to stay there for the night.

The girl who couldn’t ease her nervousness tailed him to his room and to find that Chunji’s dictionary was different with hers. “No need to tidy it up. It’s okay,” she held him from moving around more. “Can I just borrow a pair of clothes?” she was swinging her lower legs after sitting down on his bed.

With a simple nod, Chunji moved towards a drawer and took a white loose t-shirt. He was about to take the bottom piece, but he paused. “Long pants or shorts?” he made sure first.

“Shorts,” she answered right away.

The word finished his task just a few seconds later. He handed them to her and towered her for a moment. “If you need anything, I’ll be outside watching TV for a while,” he purposely hid his smiley, flirty, teasing side on her just to assure her that it’s safe to stay there with him.

“Thanks a lot, Oppa.” He then left after getting a nod with a smile.

Jiyoon changed her clothes to Chunji’s and went out to the bathroom to wash her face. Chunji, who was still watching TV as he had previously said, thought she was going back to his room directly, but she walked towards him and sat beside him again instead.

“Don’t you feel sleepy?” he questioned her who was then pulling her legs up and sat cross-legged. The girl just shook her head without even looking at him. Chunji pressed his lips together and got back on watching a different movie than the one they were watching after dinner.

“Jiyoon-ah,” he tried to start again after a moment, calling her name first to make sure that he had caught her attention. She turned at him and stared. “Are you by any chance… jealous of Sunyoung earlier?” he carefully asked, not trying to make it sounded like he’s teasing her for it.

She kept staring at him for a second before turning away in silence. The question got her. She had no idea why, but she couldn’t lie and say no to the query. Yet, her heart didn’t want to admit a ‘yes’. She knew Chunji was still looking at her seriously there. She completely got caught.

“Why are you asking me this?” she asked back instead, slowly facing him again calmly although her heart beat rate couldn’t hide it.

“It’s a yes or no question and the reason behind my question isn’t really necessary to be explained,” he said with a straight face which was really unpredictable to her. And she just saw that side of him that moment.

His sudden serious face almost got her choked. She inhaled deeply, hoping it could calm her down a bit. “What’s so important about my answer?” she insisted not to answer the main question, still.

Chunji clicked his tongue. “Can’t you just answer it?” it’s clear enough that he got a little bit annoyed.

Jiyoon turned her body aside to face him directly. “Is she really just a friend of yours?” she stubbornly asked back again.

“Yes,” he firmly answered, purposely showing that he dared to answer it right away and wanting her to do the same thing to his previous question.

Jiyoon looked straight into his eyes. She felt it was a strong gaze, but her heart was actually feeling weak. Her blink slowly turned infrequently as she stared deeper. “Do you...still love me?” her voice came out like a whisper due to her nervousness. Indeed, she felt weird right after. Asking Chunji such a question had never crossed her mind at all before.

“After all the things we went through, no matter what, that doesn’t need to be questioned to me. If I had ever moved on from you, I’d already have a girl next to me all the time by now,” he scoffed. “Nothing has changed.”

Silence locked them up. None of them dared to say a thing for a moment. Their head synchronously hung low after the last words. Inside Jiyoon, a tight battle between her heart and her mind was unavoidable. She then looked up to see him was looking to the opposite direction. Her trembling fingers slowly reached out to touch his cheek and cup it using her right hand. The surprised guy turned to see her whose eyes were already glassy. They just stared at each other in silence, still.

Then something led her lips to his. Chunji was frozen for a moment before both of them let it be. They closed their eyes as they slowly scooted closer. Her thumb was caressing his cheek as her other arm had unconsciously hugged him.

Yes, she was jealous. She just didn’t want to admit it since it clashed with her mixed feelings for Changjo. And honestly, it was still uncertain as she kissed him. She knew she was selfish. She didn’t want to let none of them go although even if she had to.

The sudden connected feelings between them made the kiss deepened. Her hand traced to his nape to pull him closer while his arms were circling her waist. It amazed her how she could kiss him that way after all things happened. She knew it well that it wasn’t Changjo whom she’s kissing that moment. It’s Lee Chanhee. She wasn’t using him as Changjo’s replacement, no. That missing guy was irreplaceable to her. It’s Lee Chanhee, and she loved him for being him. Being the annoying Lee Chanhee until the time she eventually fell for him for real. Changjo was Changjo and Chunji was Chunji. None of them could replace each other.

She broke the kiss and hugged him tighter. Her head was buried on the crook of his neck. Hugging someone was never felt so good after all the lonely hard times she had. She let all of her emotions out until she didn’t realize that tears were also falling down on her cheeks, wetting his skin.

She pulled herself as her sanity came around again. She hastily wiped her tears with the back of her hands while she looked down on her lap, but Chunji stopped her and gently pulled her chin up.

“Why are you crying?” Worried looks could be seen clearly on his face. He supported her chin up to face him still.

Jiyoon managed to fake a smile. “It’s okay. I’m just being over emotional,” she casually shrugged. “I… I should sleep now.” She slowly got up with her hands still wiping her cheeks. “Good night, Chanhee.” She flashed a smile at him before heading to his room.

Chunji was left speechless by her sudden change. He stared at the closed door of his room as his thumb made its way to his lower lip. Jiyoon just kissed him all of a sudden and all the emotions pouring out of her really surprised him. Somehow he could feel something like loneliness coming out from her as she gave him the tightest hug ever earlier. He couldn’t think clearly. He was losing hope on being with her and the thing just happened.

One thing he finally realized and sure of it. Jiyoon was indeed jealous of Sunyoung. He wasn’t even being that close with her in front of Jiyoon, but all those jealousies turned her into a budging stone. The astonishing feelings made him sat in silence, thinking about everything that just happened in a blink, as fast as a ninja could vanish.

It was about half an hour after Jiyoon went into his bedroom when he thought he heard a vague sound of someone sobbing. His instinct led him to eavesdrop on his bedroom’s door to check. And he was sure that the sound came from inside his room.

“Jiyoon?” he slowly knocked on the door. “Jiyoon, are you okay?” he asked again since he got no response. He waited for a moment while kept knocking on the door with his heart beating faster, anxious. He dared himself to open the door—thanks to Jiyoon who didn’t lock it—and the lights, to find her curling up in a ball in the bed, sobbing hard as she hugged herself tight.

Chunji approached her carefully to see her clearer. Just then she started screaming in frustration between the sobs with her eyes were still closed. Her eyeballs were clearly moving under the eyelids. She was having a nightmare, another nightmare, worse to his unknown.

He hopped on the bed to hug her. He started hushing her, whispering anything he thought it could calm or at least wake her up. His hand then moved to her hair, pulling up her bangs just to find out later that it even made her sweating hard.

“Jiyoon-ah. Jiyoon-ah,” he kept calling her name. “Wake up, dear. Wake up. It’s me, Chunji. Wake up, Jiyoon-ah,” he tried to maintain himself calm on the scene.

Her eyelids fluttered open eventually. Her empty gaze was staring at him lifelessly, still confused between her dream and reality. She was panting hard as sweat was still dripping down her forehead.

“You’re having a nightmare,” told Chunji, answering her questioning stare. “It’s okay. It has passed.”

She moved closer to him and hugged him back tighter than the last time she hugged him in the living room. He could feel her body shaking in his hug. And the sobs started again.  

“Ssshh,” Chunji hushed her as he her back gently, still in his attempt to calm her down.

“I’m scared,” she whispered in a cracking voice. “I’m scared, Oppa.”

“I’m here, Jiyoon-ah. You’re not alone. No need to be scared. I’m here,” replied him. He pulled her head closer to him and left a light kiss on her forehead. “I’ll always be here,” he nearly choked.

He could hear her breath’s pace was slowing down bit by bit. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Chunji’s body smell was somehow calmed her down since its familiarity made her felt safe.

Then, she slowly looked up to face him who flashed a smile at her. “I’m here.” It’s a pleasant for her to hear that again. She wasn’t alone; she had him.

“Thank you,” she mouthed before showing a weak smile in reply.

Chunji kissed her on the lips and pulled her into his hug again. The sweetness moved his hand to caress her wet cheek she got from sobbing earlier. For Jiyoon, his tender lips secured her as it locked hers. They were kissing each other slowly and gently until Jiyoon fell back asleep in his hug under his love spells, forgetting all her problems behind for a while.

******

Changjo clicked his tongue, annoyed. It had been almost an hour since he drove his car aside on the highway. He had been waiting for the storm to have a little bit mercy on him so that he could drive home safely, at the very least. Worse, his phone ran out of battery and he forgot to bring any charging devices. The grumpy bear couldn’t get pissed more.

It’s almost midnight and he was there stuck in the storm. His eyes got heavier and heavier from the work he had that day. The only thing in his mind was his comfortable bed with the warmth of his thick bedding on it. He nearly fell asleep as he imagined them. Hastily he shook his head to shrug them off and kept awake. His hand grabbed the coffee cup on the dashboard tray to sip it, but unfortunately there’s nothing left inside it.

A brilliant—or either the dumbest idea—crossed his mind. There’s a nice place nearby where he could have a rest while the storm lasts. He could lay down watching TV and maybe have a cup of hot coffee also, for free. With the short distance of view, he totally bet on his life for a temporary comfort he had been longing for. He his sign lamp after putting on his seatbelt. He stepped on the gas slowly and started driving—probably in the slowest speed he ever drove—on the deadly wet and dangerous highway road.

It took him 30 minutes to reach the building, which actually was located only about two kilometers from his previous location. For him, it was a blessing already just to arrive safely there. The exhausted him walked wobbly to the elevator and, again, nearly fell asleep inside it. Fortunately his hyung was still using the same old pin to get into the apartment, so that he didn’t have to waste his time cursing for the umpteenth time.

Making a cup of coffee was his first plan, but his tired self didn’t let himself to move around anymore. He took wide steps towards the couch and laid his back there before going into his dream land as soon as he shut his eyes closed.

******

Jiyoon didn’t know how she should react to the view of Chunji sleeping tightly beside her when she woke up. She could hear his low snores as his chest heaved up and down slowly. She couldn’t hold herself from admiring his features. He somehow looked more mature in that state. Calm, the other side of him she had never seen before. She raised her head a bit to get a clearer look of him sleeping.

And the admiring self of her turned into a gloom all of a sudden. The past sins started its playback on her mind. It was still fresh in her mind how she tricked him back then all along. Unfortunately it took her quite long to finally realize that he had never meant to play her around. He was damn serious with it. To remember again, he even proposed her that night. Yes, to be only his.

She couldn’t resist his cheek again. The guy just stirred a bit in his sleep, luckily. She then laid her head back on the pillow as she continued staring at him. “I’m sorry, Chanhee-ya,” a shaky whisper escaped out of at the thoughts of the things she had done with Changjo. And all the secrets she had been hiding from him.

She inhaled deeply to hold herself from crying again before getting off the bed slowly to make breakfast for him. At least, that’s the littlest thing she could do to pay her stay there. The TV was still on when she came out. Her mind wandered to dig her memories about the previous night and she could imagine Chunji went into his room without turning the TV off first. She continued her trip to the kitchen before she abruptly stopped her steps halfway as she heard sounds coming from the kitchen. With all the remaining courage she had, she slowly tiptoed to peek into the kitchen. But the scene she saw in just a moment later attracted her to walk into the kitchen without any hesitation. She then found herself trying her best to stand on her limp legs, staring in disbelief with her hand smothered her own mouth to prevent herself from screaming or sobbing hysterically.

There was a guy stirring his cup of coffee with his back facing towards her. She didn’t need anybody to tell her who it was, but the only thing she could think of was that she needed a CPR from the unbelievable view in front of her.