That thin line between love and hate

Popular novelist, Kim Jonghyun, joins us today to discuss his new book and the secret to his success!

“I think it’d have to be my editor. She’s tough but efficient.”

Jonghyun’s voice filters through her laptop’s speakers, she can almost hear his cocky little smirk through the tone alone. Minyoung scoffs, looping on another earring whilst checking the time on her phone. Thirty more minutes before she has to leave the apartment, Minyoung studies her reflection through the bathroom mirror and tries to remember if she had already put on mascara or not.

“There are reports about your recent break up. Is it hard when your editor is your ex-girlfriend?”

“Well, before she became my girlfriend, she was my assistant and friend. And now she just happens to be my editor and ex-girlfriend; these are just labels. We work well together and that’s all that matters.”

“Smooth,” MInyoung mumbles. “Charming. Words dripping like honey, Kim Jonghyun,” She rolls her eyes, “How does he do it?”

She glances down at her phone, ten more minutes. Minyoung shuts off the laptop and places it in her bag, careful to not bend the manila envelopes with Jonghyun’s latest novel.

Five more minutes, she checks her watch and surveys her bedroom one more time, running through a mental checklist to make sure she has everything.

Three, two, one…

Minyoung slips into her shoes, opens the door and is greeted with a slightly startled Jonghyun whose right hand is still raised up in a fist, poised to knock.

“Good morning,” She says, shutting the door behind her. “For me?” Minyoung reaches for the cup of coffee in Jonghyun’s other hand before he answers. She doesn’t wait for him to compose himself; instead she walks swiftly down the corridor, heels clicking against marble floor.

“Good timing. I think we’ve been spending too much time together,” Jonghyun says, his tone is mockingly sad.

“Isn’t that why we work so well?” Minyoung replies, pressing the elevator button, tapping her foot when the lift doesn’t come fast enough.

Jonghyun grins, “You saw?”

“This morning,” She nods curtly. “Very nice. You said all the right things.”

“They always ask the same questions.”

“Well, you’re not going to find some innovative show host,” She shrugs as they step onto the elevator. “They always claim to conduct some groundbreaking interview and then they ask about your love life, like that’s news.”

“My love life is always news.”

“Maybe you should invest some of that dating time into your writing,” She takes out one of the envelopes and hold it out for him to take, “The usual, my corrections and comments. Have the revisions done by next week.”

“Next week?” Jonghyun exclaims, “There is no way.”

“This is just the first four chapters.”

“You haven’t read the rest?”

“I have.” She quickly steps off the lift and leads the way out of the apartment complex, towards the subway. “I’ve decided to divide it up. I have the rest with me.”

“You don’t need to make excuses to see me,” He says easily. There is a teasing edge to his voice, light and friendly. But she hears the catch, the slight hesitation because Jonghyun isn’t sure where they stand just yet.

“Good line, write it down.” Minyoung retorts, “Your protagonist could use some of that sass.”

He grabs her wrist before she could get on the subway cart. For a second she has to fight down the urge to swing her bag at him. Once calm enough, she manages a quiet, “Let go.”

“Are you ever going to look me in the eye again?”

To make her point, she looks straight at him, “If I miss this train, I will skin you.”

Jonghyun’s smile wavers, “We’ve never talked about us.”

“There is nothing to talk about, we dated and we broke up.”

Minyoung manages to slip her wrist out of his grip and step onto the train before the door closes. She holds her breath until the train pulls away from the platform and she can no longer see Jonghyun; and she pretends she hasn’t seen the hurt in his eyes at all for the brief second that their eyes connected.

When she returns to her apartment complex, the sun is already starting to set and there is a brewing headache right between her eyes. Her stomach growls because - what time is it now? - she had forgotten to eat all day today. Her bag weights heavily on her shoulder with unread manuscripts and unedited documents. Minyoung scoffs at the sight of Jonghyun leaning against her door, take out bag in hand.

"I come in peace," He offers.

"And bearing gifts, I see."

"Yes, in hopes you'll forgive me and let me in."

She sighs, "I knew I would regret not moving away from you."

Jonghyun smirks, "That's not a no."

"Only because I'm hungry," Minyoung rushes on before he can speak again, "Yes, I know. I'm killing myself. I need to eat. It's one of your pet peeves that I work to the point of forgetting to feed myself. But I also have a headache and I don't need a lecture."

He holds up a hand in surrender and zips his lips.

Jonghyun clears the plates after dinner. She watches as he moves around her kitchen, getting plastic containers to store the rest of the food. He knows where everything is because he helped put everything there; because they spent four hours arguing over where to put containers, utensils and her ridiculous amount of coffee mugs.

"This is too much for one person," He had said, shaking his head at the absurdity.

"I like coffee mugs, okay?" She shoved him out of the way, "Stop judging."

"Well, I guess now I don't have to worry about bringing my own cup when I sleep over."

Minyoung sputtered, "Why would you sleep over? You live right across the hall!"

She shrieked when he picked her up to spin her around, "Because I don't want to be even one foot from you."

So much for all that, Minyoung thinks, sipping on her tea.

"Thinking about me again?"

She almost chokes on the scalding liquid, "No!"

"You're lying. You only get that annoyed look when you're thinking about me."

"You've caught me."

Jonghyun chuckles, "I know you."

Minyoung tries to think of a sarcastic retort, instead she says, "I thought I knew you, too," She shakes her head as he steps closer, "No. I...I don't think know why I said that. I'm sorry."

"Liar, you know why."

"Okay, yeah, I'm still...a bit mad," She manages a wobbly smile, "It just slipped out. It won't happen again."

"We're not at the office! You don't have to pretend with me."

"Oh, how ironic, you having the gut to stand there and tell me that." She huffs, blood rushing in her ears despite her efforts to not get mad. "Like how you pretended with me?"

"I didn't. I wasn't."

Minyoung hears the desperation in his voice. And somehow that pisses her off even more. Because how dare he sound so pathetic like she was the only who had tossed him aside like last week's left-overs?

"You weren't?" She leers, "My bad. You only pretended with her, right? Well, now I feel better. Sorry for making a scene! If only I had known that you care about me and was only sleeping with her because you wanted to play pretend."

"Minyoung."

She throws her mug of tea at him, "Don't say my name like that. Let yourself out."

She turns on her heels and runs to her bedroom, slamming the door. She hears him let himself out twenty minutes later, probably because he was moping up hot tea and ceramic shards. Minyoung knows she has bad aim and hopes the cup had missed him completely; Jonghyun has a TV appearance tomorrow after all.