DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains content alluding to self-harm, so I apologize if it offends anybody. I do take the concept of self-harm very seriously and hope that you will understand that it's just part of the story.

The next couple of days proved to be frustrating for Jessica.

Due to his confinement, Woobin spends his days doing absolutely nothing, and yet, he still manages to make life difficult for her.

Almost every morning, Woobin sleeps in past noon, and only wakes up to either watch TV, or smirk as he watches Jessica clean the house and cook him food.

Normally, Jessica spends her days just doing that – taking care of the house.

But having an audience gawk at her like his housemaid – well, that made the peaceful tranquility of caring for her own house an irritating ordeal.

Every time she’d ask him to help or pick up after himself, he’d laugh it off with that self-righteous smile and walk away. Or he’d just complain about how much his shoulder still hurts.

Luckily for him, she doesn’t end his life right now with her own bare hands. He wouldn’t even see it coming as he has no idea of what she’s capable of.

But Jessica continues to baby him, keeping up her façade that she’s only there to house him, and nothing else.

She’d love to see the look on his face after realizing that she’s actually there to protect him and relish in his stupidity. To see that devious smile fall off his face would really make Jessica that much happier.

But she knows that after the investigation is over, she’ll never have to see him again.

Waking up at 9:00 am, as she normally does, Jessica began her morning ritual.

Stretching her limbs and feeling the knots of a deep sleep unwind in her muscles; she let out a hearty yawn.

She got up from the bed and put on a pair of house slippers before going into the bathroom.

She pulled up her hair into a messy bun and pulled up her sleeves in order to wash her face.

After a few cold splashes of water, Jessica grabbed the nearest face towel to wipe herself dry.

Looking in the mirror, she could easily notice the raised marks on her left arm.

She looked down at her pale arm, taking in all the scars that stood out from the rest of her skin.

Around her wrist she wore a single rubber band for security as her therapist once advised.

--flashback—

 

“When did it start?” she asked.

Jessica kept her eyes down, playing with her fingers as she tried to remember when.

“It was a little while after the incident,” she began. “Whenever it happens, I never realize it.”

“What do you mean?” her therapist continued, looking up from her notepad.

Jessica took in a deep breath. “Well…first I’d do it, unknowingly. Then for a brief moment, it would hurt. And I would see it…but then…the pain would go away. And suddenly, I’d be too numb to feel anything...and it would happen again and again, but I wouldn’t even know.”

She drew out her words slowly and reluctantly.

Without even realizing it, she began to rub her arm up and down.

Her therapist continued to jot down more notes.

“And how about now?”

“Now?” Jessica looked up.

“Do you still have these urges?”

“I don’t know,” Jessica stated plainly, crossing her arms as if she were hugging herself, and shrugging her shoulders.

Suddenly, the therapist got up from her seat and went over to her desk.

Jessica watched as she opened a drawer, pulled something out, and returned, but this time, she sat next to Jessica on the couch.

“Here,” the therapist said, opening her palm.

Jessica looked down at her therapist’s hand, and in the center laid a single rubber band.

She looked up at her curiously.

“Take it,” her therapist encouraged.

She did as she was told and held the rubber band between her index finger and thumb on both hands, occasionally stretching it.

“Why did you give this to me?”

“I want you to wear it around your wrist, like a bracelet,” she began. “It is my hope that if the urge ever comes back, you will use this instead.”

Jessica placed the rubber band over her hand, like a bracelet, and immediately snapped the rubber band against her skin.

She looked up at her therapist who nodded.

“Exactly.”

“How will this make it stop?” Jessica inquired.

“What you're doing isn’t normally a choice,” her therapist began. “It’s a cry for help. If you knew why you were doing it you wouldn’t be doing it at all.”

Jessica nodded her head and stared down at the rubber band around her wrist.

“This is going to take some time, but you will get better.”

 

--end of flashback—

Jessica smacked her wrist with the rubber band once, and then immediately pulled down her sleeve.

…

The rest of her morning went on as usual.

She cleaned the house from top to bottom. She vacuumed all the rugs, mopped the floors, and dusted the windows.

She watered the flowers in the living room and kitchen and decided she’d make herself some breakfast.

She fried up some pancakes and after making a few for herself, figured she should make some for Woobin.

He’d wake up eventually, and as always, he’d come sulking in for food.

She laid down plates and utensils for two and without hesitation, began to eat her meal.

After she finished, she looked at the clock on the kitchen wall that read “11:00 AM.”

Still not up? She thought.

She went upstairs and knocked on his door.

“Woobin? Kim Woobin?” she called. She knocked a few more times. “Ya, Woobin ah. Are you awake?”

She only heard him groan and ruffle his sheets, probably trying to get comfortable again.

Bored of this, Jessica went back downstairs to wash her dishes.

Afterward, she stepped outside into the backyard patio, watching the waves ripple across the lake, admiring the sun’s reflection across its surface.

Focus on your happiness.

Jessica wasn’t so sure what her next project was going to be. After talking to her therapist, she decided to enroll herself in a few online courses so she could finish up her Interior Design graduate degree but after just a semester she was already finished.

It was then that she decided to renovate this lake house.

This lake house didn’t actually belong to her grandfather. She actually purchased it herself, with money that she had saved up over previous years, to rehabilitate and make into a new home.

Shin was the one who told her about it and suggested that she fix it up – knowing that she wanted to be an interior designer if she weren’t in the service.

It was perfect. It was practically hidden and gave her access to the most beautiful view.

It was peaceful and quiet.

Her therapist wondered if it was a good idea since she’d probably be lonely.

But Jessica preferred to be alone.

After everything she had gone through she found it difficult to just be around other people.

She heaved a sigh, still appreciating the sight before her eyes, taking in the chilly January air.

…

Waiting for the laundry to finish drying, she sat on the couch to watch a little TV.

Suddenly, she heard the slow descending steps of her very own resident Sleeping Beauty.

He came into the living room, scratching his head, his eyes still barely open.

“Finally up?” Jessica laughed.

Jessica looked at the clock on the television that said “1:23 PM.”

He stretched his arms and rubbed the nape of his neck.

“You’re looking bright and sunshiney as usual,” she cracked.

“Gomaweoyo,” he croaked with a grin and headed into the kitchen.

“Can’t you do anything else besides sleep in past noon and come downstairs for food?” she asked as he took a plate of pancakes and brought it to the microwave.

She noticed as he leaned against the counter, his head dipped down, rubbing his temples.

She could hear him groaning.

“You have another headache?” she asked curiously.

After the food finished warming up, he lazily poured syrup all over the top, grabbed a fork and knife, and brought his utensils to the living room. He sat on the floor in front of Jessica who was sitting on the couch and she observed as he ate.

Woobin took a single bite of his food and began rubbing his head again.

Jessica eyed him carefully. “Are you getting sick?” she asked.

But he shook his head. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he reassured, his head still down.

“You don’t look fine,” she answered. “You’ve been waking up with headaches a lot recently.”

“It’s nothing,” he said, continuing to eat.

“I didn’t know extreme laziness could turn into a disease,” she mocked. “Why do you always sleep in so late? Are you honestly that tired?”

“Nope,” he answered plainly.

“You just like to sleep for more than 8 hours every day?” she retorted.

“Yup,” he looked over his shoulder at her, smiling.

“Why?”

“Well, I’d normally be up by 10, getting ready to go to another damned business meeting for my dad, but I hate that,” he replied. “Always getting a call every morning from Secretary Kang: ‘Woobin sshi, where are you? Woobin sshi, get here now! Woobin sshi, Your abeoji is looking for you! Woobin sshi, your dad’s gonna kill us!’” he mocked. “So irritating.”

“That’s not that early,” Jessica rolled her eyes.

“It is for someone who much prefers sleeping in after a long night of drinking and clubbing,” he said as he took another bite.

“I bet you wake up to a new woman in your bed every day, then,” Jessica teased.

Woobin turned around and smirked. “Of course. What would be the point of going to a club, then?”

Jessica’s lip curled in disgust.

“Why do you ask?” he turned his torso toward her. “You jealous?”

“No,” she furrowed her eyebrows at him. “I was just wondering if you were the type of person I thought you were.”

“Oh, and what kind of person is that?” he challenged.

“Oh, you know. Just the self-absorbed womanizing type who wastes his money on booze and cigarettes every night,” she countered nonchalantly.

“Looks like you do know me,” he grinned.

“To a T,” Jessica spit back.

“Congratulations,” he rolled his eyes, turning back to his food.

“I thought you were engaged,” she answered.

“Unhappily,” he corrected her. “And she’s not so innocent either, I’ll tell you that.”

Jessica continued to watch TV as Woobin continued to eat his food.

“Well, you know what I do for fun,” Woobin said, finishing his last bite of food. “What do you do?” he asked, lifting himself up onto the couch so that he was seated next to her.

“What do you mean?”

He leaned back against the couch, crossing his legs. “You don’t look like you work much. So what do you do to pass the time?”

“Well, I just…I just sort of take care of the house. I clean, I read, I exercise sometimes…”

Woobin raised an eyebrow. “That’s fun?”

“It’s…busy work…”

“It’s boring,” he leaned into her face then pulled back.

“Coming from the guy who sleeps in every morning?” Jessica came back curtly.

“Yeah, well, if you haven’t noticed,” he waved his arms, “My current situation doesn’t exactly allow me to partake in my usual ventures.”

Jessica heard the chime from the laundry room, signaling that the load was finished drying and she got up from the couch.

After folding his laundry into a basket, she carried it back out, making a pit stop in the living room before going up the stairs.

“Would you like to bring up your laundry to your room?” she asked.

But Woobin laid himself across the couch and at the sound of her beckoning, immediately grabbed onto his shoulder.

“Noona~,” he whined. “You know how much it hurts.”

“Ya,” she raised a hand at him and he flinched slightly. “You’re impossible.”

She angrily grabbed the basket and began to make her way toward the stairs.

“Noona, you’d make such a pretty wife,” he complimented.

“I’m just going to pretend that I didn’t hear that,” she hissed under her breath.

“Gomaweoyo, jagi-ya~ (wifey~),” he crooned.

Jessica shuddered at the sound of his aegyo and went bolting up the stairs.

She goes into his room to find that his bed was never made and his drawers were all askew with clothing tousled about.

Annoyed, Jessica laid the laundry basket onto the floor and went right for one of the open drawers, wanting to re organize it.

Such a pig, she told herself.

She took out some of the clothes to refold but as she was pulling some shirts out, her eyes widened when she found a few empty bottles of alcohol.

What the, she cursed to herself, pulling out one of the empty bottles of vodka.

…

“Kim Woobin,” Jessica called coming down the stairs.

“Neh, noona?” he answered, straightening himself up on the couch.

“Have you been drinking the last couple of days?” she asked her hands behind her back as she slowly approached him.

Woobin raised an eyebrow averting her gaze.

“Don’t raise your eyebrow at me,” she ordered. “Answer me. Have you been drinking?”

“What are you, my mother? Oh no, that’s right, you’re my babysitter,” he corrected himself, leaning back and crossing his arms.

“Seriously,” her voice firm.

“Alright, alright, I admit to having an occasional shot every once in a while,” he confessed.

Jessica just laughed. “A shot? How about two bottles of vodka and a bottle of rum?” she countered, pulling out the empty bottles from behind her back.

Woobin avoided her gaze again and just put up his palms to her, trying to calm her down.

“Look, I’ll pay you back if you just take me down to a liquor store,” he offered. “Or I could make up for it with a date at the bar, instead,” he smiled deviously.

Jessica shook her head, placing the bottles onto the coffee table.

“Quit it with the jokes,” she demanded, crossing her arms. “Why were you drinking?”

“What happened to minding our own business?” he shot back.

“My liquor, my business,” she retaliated. “Have you been drinking yourself to sleep?”

He still refused to look her straight in the eye and only stared out the window.

He was silent.

“Woobin ah~,” she called, her voice irritated.

“You wanted me to find something better to do, so I found something better to do,” he shrugged.

“This isn’t exactly what I meant,” she replied, sitting down next to him. “Why would you do that anyway?”

“Why do you care?” he hissed.

Jessica couldn’t comprehend why he’d do something like this. Maybe she wasn’t one to talk, considering that she has her own fair share of demons she’s fighting off.

But him? She thought.

“Besides being sought after by some stalker, what other problems could someone like you possibly have?”

Fuming, Woobin got up from his seat. “I’ll pay you back for the alcohol. Let’s leave it at that.”

Jessica watched as he stormed out of the living room and up the stairs into his room.

He didn’t slam his door, but he shut it loud enough so she could hear.

In her mind, he was overreacting like a bratty teenager when all she was doing was trying to help him.

…

The clock read 20 minutes past midnight as Woobin lay across his bed, his arms folded behind his head.

Unwanted thoughts continued to enter his mind – the shooting, his father lying about caring for his son in his speech, and his mother, ill in her hospital bed.

Every time one of these thoughts came to mind, he shook his head trying to rid himself of the undesirable memories.

The sound of Agent Shin’s voice saying “You are your father’s most valuable insurance,” echoed in his brain and no matter how violently he shook his head, the voice wouldn’t go away.

Frustrated, he sprang up from his position and went sauntering toward his door. He opened it quietly, making sure to be quiet and that Jessica was still asleep.

He quietly tiptoed down the stairs and once his feet hit he first floor, he went sauntering into the kitchen.

He placed his hands onto the counter and leaned forward.

“Have you been drinking yourself to sleep?”

Suddenly, her voice was resonating in his head and he couldn’t make it stop.

“Why would you do that anyway?”

“What other problems could someone like you possibly have?”

Woobin may not have been able to sleep off the voices in his head, but he knew one thing that would make them shut up.

He bent down to the cabinet in front of him, but to his surprise, there was a lock on the door.

, he cursed to himself.

He held the lock in his hand, desperately trying to pull it off, to no avail.

He angrily banged the lock against the cabinet and stood back up, slamming a fist onto the counter.

[A/N]; Woohoooo! Back with another update!! I'm trying to write as much as I can each day because I'm currently on winter break from school, but my break ends next Sunday! Ahhh! So I won't be able to update as often :((((

Once again, I apologize if any of the content in this particular chapter made anyone uncomfortable or offended anyone!! Please remember that it's just a story!!

ALSO ALSO ALSO, I made a quick little preview video thingy for my story! It's on youtube CLICK HERE TO GO SEE IT!

Thank you lovely subbies for your support and hilarious comments! Hope you're excited to read more :))

Woobin x Sica, hwaiting!

- J