Young Jae joined me for dinner that night. He seated himself at my kitchen table, as comfortably as if this was his home. Sometimes it irritated me how nonchalantly he sauntered into my apartment and my life.

“Young Jae! Go home and eat,” I ordered, annoyed.

He smiled at me. “Only if you come with me. It’s lonely to eat aloneee," he whined. “Just let me eat here.”

“Why do you still hang around me?” I asked, pulling the apron over my head. I had decided to cook today. And by cook I meant making eggs to go in the fried rice Young Jae had brought over.

“What do you mean?” Young Jae asked, fiddling with his earring. “Why wouldn’t I hang around you?”

“Nothing’s going to change just because you keep trying," I replied. “Why are you hanging around a girl who doesn’t like you back?”

Young Jae shrugged. “We’re friends. That’s not going to change whether or not you like me.”

I looked at him skeptically. “So you’re saying that even if you come to like me more and more and I continue to reject you, you’re not going to get frustrated?”

“Of course I’ll get frustrated. But I’m not gonna stop being friends with you because you don’t want to date me. I’ll probably just give up after a while.” Young Jae looked at his hands. “I don’t want you to think that I’m not sincere about you. I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable because I know you don’t want to be with me. I’m willing to wait until you change your mind.”

“If I change my mind,” I corrected. Young Jae stuck his tongue out at me.

“You let me kiss you," he reminded me mischievously.

“That was a surprise attack. One that I don’t like to remember.”

“Sure, sure," he winked at me and I flushed. It had been a nice kiss, but that didn't mean I cared to repeat the experience.

“Shut up. Dinner’s ready.” I announced, setting a bowl full of food in front of him.

Young Jae tentatively took a bite. “Hey, this is actually good!”

I shot him a look. “You don’t need to be so surprised.” He smiled at me sheepishly.

As I sat down to eat, I heard a knock at the door.

“I wonder who that could be,” I muttered, walking over to answer it. “Coming!” I called.

I opened the door to find Jimin standing there awkwardly, holding several containers of food and a plastic bag holding what looked like soju.

I stared at him for a moment, shocked. Oddly, Jimin looked just as shocked to see me.

“U-Uh…my mom sent me over with these. She didn’t tell me who they were for," he stammered, unable to look me in the eye.

“You just went over to a stranger’s house?” I asked, still dumbstruck.

“You know my mom,” Jimin said with an embarassed little smile. “She doesn’t take no for an answer. If I had known, I would have called or something.”

Young Jae appeared behind me, curious. “Who is it?” He spotted Jimin. “Jiminie!” he cried, excited. “Are you joining us for dinner?”

Jimin’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of us. I could see him trying to make sense of the situation.

“Do you guys live together?” he blurted out stupidly.

“Of course not,” I snapped, blushing. Was he an idiot? Did he lose all of his brain cells after we broke up?

“Oh, what a happy dream.” Young Jae put his hand over his heart, goofing off.

“Shut the up,” I muttered. Jimin looked so uncomfortable that I almost took pity on him.

“Don’t make him stand there for so long," Young Jae scolded me. “Come in, Jimin. I’ll grab another bowl and you can eat with us.”

“Uhh…” Jimin looked at me, unsure of what to do.

“Come on in,” I sighed. I couldn’t be rude and shut the door in his face like I wanted to. The idiot should have made his excuses and refused Young Jae’s offer. But no, now he was taking off his shoes and placing containers of his mom’s food in my kitchen. What the ? At least he brought soju. Maybe I could get through this if I could drink.

There were many times when I wished Jimin would show up at my door, bearing food and alcohol and maybe some flowers, to beg me to take him back. I dreamed about that almost every night. But now that he was finally here, delivering food his mom tricked him into bringing to me, I just wished he would leave.

He didn't want me back, and I didn't want to be constantly reminded of what we used to be and what we would never be again. He was here, in my home, in my kitchen, making surly comments to Young Jae, and he wasn't mine to hug or kiss or love.

Just some guy who didn't want to love me anymore.

Yukon bounded over and jumped up onto Jimin's foot, barking excitedly.

"Yukon!" Jimin cooed, scooping him up into his arms. "I missed you, baby. Did you miss me?"

The puppy answered by Jimin's face as Jimin giggled.

Young Jae watched the scene without comment. I eyed him warily, nervous that he would put two and two together and realize that Jimin had been my ex-boyfriend.

“Young Jae, get some soju glasses down from the cabinet,” I ordered. I filled up a bowl with fried rice for Jimin and handed it to him.

He looked at it, then looked at me. “Did, uh, did you cook this?” he asked cautiously.

“It won’t kill you,” I snapped. “I just made the eggs. Young Jae made everything else.”

Jimin looked relieved and annoyed at the same time. “Are you sure you guys aren’t dating?”

“Jimin! Don’t ask me again!” I cried. “Sit down and eat your dinner. Young Jae, pour me some soju, please.”

He obediently came over and filled my cup. I downed it and began to eat my meal, glowering. Young Jae and Jimin just stared at me. Both of them looked a little scared.

“Are you okay?” Young Jae asked, pouring me another drink.

“I’m just hungry,” I said, finishing off the shot.

I poured a drink for Jimin. “Thanks for bringing the food over,” I said, softening my tone. I felt a little sorry for him. As uncomfortable as I was, Jimin probably felt that tenfold. Poor kid didn’t even know his mom was sending him over to his ex-girlfriend’s house.

Jimin smiled at me and finished his drink.

“How do you guys know each other?” Young Jae asked suddenly. Jimin and I looked up with guilty expressions on our faces.

“Um…we used to see each other in Seoul sometimes. His mom introduced us,” I replied smoothly. I didn’t lie.

Jimin glanced over at me, clearly hurt by my words. I snuck a peek at Young Jae to see if he caught Jimin’s look, but he was staring at me with an unfathomable expression. I ignored the both of them and continued to eat my dinner.

Young Jae and Jimin spent the rest of the meal chatting about Jimin’s life as an idol and how his family’s restaurant was doing. I just continued to eat my food in silence. I couldn’t shake Jimin’s hurt expression from my mind. Did Jimin expect me to tell Young Jae that he was my ex-boyfriend? I didn’t want to pretend that we had never been together, but I wasn’t about to broadcast it to the entire nation.

Young Jae noticed my silence and kicked me under the table. “Be polite!” he mouthed to me. I stuck my tongue out at him.

“What are you guys doing?” Jimin looked between the two of us with raised eyebrows.

“Nothing,” Young Jae replied quickly. I rolled my eyes. Smooth. “Do you want to watch a movie?” he suggested.

Jimin looked surprised that Young Jae was inviting him to watch a movie in my home. He looked at me for confirmation. I shrugged. “You’re welcome to stay and watch with us if you want to.”

“Ah…okay," he agreed softly.

I wasn't sure whether I wanted him to stay or go, but I felt like I had lost all control of the evening once he stepped into my home. 

Young Jae got up to pick out the movie.

“What about The Thieves?” he asked us.

“Fine with me," I said. Jimin nodded.

Young Jae ran a hand through his hair. “Do you mind if I take a shower?” he asked me. "I'm a little grungy."

I nodded. “Go for it. You know where the towels are.”

Jimin’s eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline.

“He knows where your towels are?” he hissed at me.

I sighed and stood up, getting ready to wash the dishes. Jimin immediately jumped up to help me. He followed me into the kitchen and handed me the apron. “Haven’t seen this in a while.” He murmured.

“Yeah, I wonder why,” I snapped, not up for dealing with his .

Jimin sighed softly and stood next to me as I scrubbed a pot. “I’m sorry that I came over like this.”

“Why are you still here?” I demanded. “This is so awkward. Why don’t you just go home?”

Jimin took the clean pot from my hand and dried it off.

“Let me at least help you with the dishes,” he offered quietly. I didn't say anything, but he seemed to take my silence as approval.

“How did you get so close with Young Jae?” he asked after a few minutes of quiet cleaning.

“He just showed up on my doorstep one night with food from your mom and invited himself in. He’s been doing it all the time for like a month now.” I sighed and wiped the sweat off of my face. Washing dishes in hot water always made me feel gross.

“Here, you’ve got some soap on you.” Jimin reached over and turned my head. He gently held my face in his hand and slowly wiped the suds off my cheek with his thumb. His eyes lingered on my lips for a moment. After a little while, he let go of my face with a small sigh. My heart pounded and I found it difficult to breathe.

“Thanks,” I said awkwardly. I turned my attention back to the dishes.

“So do you like Young Jae?” Jimin pried.

“He’s a good friend.” I handed Jimin a plate. Jimin regarded me suspiciously. I shrugged. “I don’t have many close friends left in Busan and all my other friends are still in Seoul. It’s nice to have him around.”

“He acts like your boyfriend,” Jimin pointed out.

“Well, he wants to be,” I replied. I peeked out of the corner of my eye to see Jimin’s reaction. Was it me or did he dry that plate a little too forcefully?

“Do you want him to be your boyfriend?” Jimin continued his nosy questions.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “He’s nice and he’s good looking. He doesn’t pressure me for anything. But I don’t have any feelings for him yet.”

“Is it weird for me to be asking you these questions?” Jimin asked as he dried my favorite pair of chopsticks.

I let out a little giggle. “Everything is weird right now.” I handed him the last dish and pulled the apron over my head.

“It’s strange to see you wearing that apron,” Jimin commented.

“Why? Because you were always the one wearing it?” I reached behind him to hang it up on the hook. I accidentally brushed his hair with my arm and felt my heart skip a beat.

“Yeah. I never thought the day would come where I would eat something you made and it would taste good.” Jimin giggled.

“You’re still a brat, then, huh?” I rolled my eyes.

“That’ll never change.” Jimin finished drying the dishes, turned, and leaned against the counter. He studied me for a long moment.

“What?” I asked, feeling self-conscious. “Why are you staring at me?”

“I’m just thinking that it’s good to see you again.” He gave me a small, wistful smile.

“Is it good to see me again, Jimin?” Young Jae came up behind me, startling us both.

I turned to look at him. He stood there confidently in just his jeans while drying his hair with a towel. He should have been confident with that six-pack, but I would have appreciated it if he hadn’t chosen to reveal it in my kitchen.

“Put a shirt on,” I muttered, averting my eyes. Young Jae smiled and pulled me close to him. He bent down to whisper in my ear.

“You know you love it.”

I flushed and pushed him away, but he still managed to sneak in a kiss on my forehead.

“Back up,” I warned him. “Put some clothes on and get a grip.”

Young Jae just smirked at me before heading back into the bathroom.

I sighed and leaned against the counter next to Jimin. We were so close that we almost touched. My body tingled all over and drove to me to distraction.

“You like that guy?” Jimin asked me quietly.

“You’re pretty hung up on this," I replied, running a hand through my hair.

“He just seems like kind of an .”

“You think so?”

“Does he normally treat you that way?” Jimin asked. He flicked a piece of lint off of his shirt and his fingers brushed mine. My heart pounded against my chest.

“What way? You used to do those kinds of things to me all the time.” I shrugged. Our shoulders bumped and an electric tingle coursed through my bloodstream. I needed to get away from Jimin, but I felt a magnetic pull towards his body. Did he feel the same way? I glanced over at him, only to catch him already staring at me. Our faces were inches apart…

“Hey!” Young Jae called from the living room. “Are you guys ready for the movie?”

“Yup!” Jimin replied, still staring at me. “One second.” He reached up and ruffled my hair with a small smile before leaving. I followed him into the living room, practically hyperventilating from that casual touch.

Young Jae had already taken a seat on the end of the couch. Jimin took a seat on the opposite end, so I was stuck in between the two. Young Jae threw an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him.

The movie started but I couldn’t pay attention at all. My mind was preoccupied with the fact that Jimin’s hand lay right next to mine on the couch. Our fingers practically touched. The millimeter of space between us drove me crazy.

Yukon jumped up onto Jimin's lap, but Jimin didn't move his hand to pet him. I wondered if he was purposely keeping it there.

It had been such a weird day. First, Jimin surprised me at work and then he surprised me at home. Young Jae is being incredibly physically affectionate, but I’m about to have a heart attack because my hand isn’t even touching the hand of a guy I used to sleep with.

I sighed. Young Jae probably felt threatened by Jimin. He could probably tell that Jimin was my ex-boyfriend. We had been so obvious and he could have overheard our conversations numerous times. There was just a familiarity with Jimin that I couldn’t deny. We had shared our lives for a long period of time. I still loved him. Young Jae had his arm around me, but all I could think about was Jimin’s hand next to mine.

Halfway through the movie, Young Jae fell asleep. I gently removed his arm from my shoulders. He always fell asleep while watching movies. Normally, I would wake him up and send him on his way home, but Jimin was here and I didn’t trust myself to be alone with him.

Jimin and I sat in silence while watching the movie. Before we broke up we used to have movie marathons with tons of snacks. We’d stay up late watching our favorite films and cracking jokes at some of the cheesy dialogue. Usually he would end up falling asleep on my lap and I would play with his hair until I felt tired enough to sleep.

“Do you remember when we first watched this?” Jimin asked me suddenly. I jumped at the sound of his voice. “Sorry for scaring you.” He laughed huskily. It was his tired laugh. He was so cute that I wanted to curl up in my bed and cry alone for a few hours.

“Yeah,” I murmured. “You were just staring at Jeon Ji Hyun the whole time.”

Jimin tsked. “I was not. And even if I was, you were drooling over Kim Soo Hyun.”

“Okay, but who wouldn’t drool over him?” I retorted. “He’s literally the cutest person on earth.”

“The cutest?” Jimin turned to look at me. He his aegyo. “Are you sure?”

“Get out,” I giggled. “You’re not even cute at all.”

“You’re lying.” Jimin pouted adorably.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re cute.” The cutest person in the whole entire universe. Was he flirting with me? Or was he just making conversation?

We settled back into silence and watched the movie.

“Mmph, Young Jae murmured in his sleep. I prodded him with my elbow. “Ugh…what are you doing?”

“Wake up," I commanded. He opened his eyes and blinked at me blearily.

“Sorry for falling asleep.” He rubbed his eyes and squinted at me. I flashed him a smile.

Young Jae yawned and stretched, then threw his arm around my shoulder and snuggled into my side. I could feel Jimin tense up beside me.

I felt a light pressure on my hand. I glanced down to see Jimin’s finger curled around one of mine. I looked at him, but he ignored me and stared intently at the television screen.

My heartrate sped up considerably. I couldn’t sit still with all these electric currents running through my veins.

I jumped up off the couch. “Does anyone want a beer?” I offered, sounding hyper even to my own ears.

“I’ll take one.” Young Jae smiled at me. I looked at Jimin for a response. He wouldn’t look at me, but got up off the couch and brushed past me into the kitchen.

I walked in there to find him pulling three glasses out of the cabinet. I opened the fridge and took out the beer. I supposed we were just going to ignore the whole thing.

“Why do you let him touch you like that?” Jimin whispered as he poured the beer.

“Like what?” I hissed back, irritated.

“Like you’re dating or something.”

“What are you trying to say?” I snatched up a full glass and took a big sip.

“I’m not trying to say anything.” Jimin looked up into my eyes. “I’m just worried about you.”

I snorted. "You're worried about me? You're not worried, you're, like, jealous or something."

He frowned and turned away from me, busying himself with the drinks.

"Oh, that's right. I guess you're not jealous, because we're not dating anymore. So, if Young Jae touches me, that's my business, not yours And I’m fine.” 

I raised my glass and drank until half the beer was gone. I would need another to get through this night.

When I pulled another out of the fridge, popped the top, and refilled my glass, JImin raised his eyebrows at me. If he were still my boyfriend, he'd make some comment about how I'd had enough and didn't I wanna make out or eat a snack instead?

But I couldn't make out with him anymore and I had no snacks, so I was gonna get drunk and snuggle with Young Jae just to piss him off. 

I brushed past him into the living room with my beer and plopped down right next to Young Jae. Our thighs were touching, but I decided not to think anything of it. Jimin had no right to tell me who I should or shouldn’t be touching.

Jimin came quietly into the kitchen and handed Young Jae his beer. If he noticed or cared how close we were sitting, he certainly didn’t show it.

Instead, the little er sat down and positioned himself so that his thigh was touching mine. I glanced at him to see if he had done on it on purpose and caught a small smile flickering on his face. He caught me looking and quickly managed a straight face. Bastard.

I quickly drained the rest of my glass and set it down on the table. I moved on to the bottle. drunk, I was going to get wasted. Jimin looked at me in alarm as I chugged beer. He knew what a lightweight I was.

After a few minutes, I could feel the buzz. Alcohol was lovely. Alcohol could solve all of my problems for the night because I suddenly didn't care about Jimin anymore. I was home, Young Jae was there to snuggle with, and I didn't even have to think about my ex-boyfriend's finger curled around mine. I could just feel.

I sighed and rested my head on Young Jae’s shoulder. He looked surprised at this sudden display of affection and kissed the top of my head.

Jimin gently took my arm and pulled me away from Young Jae. Young Jae glared at him.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“She’s drunk.” 

I giggled. “I’m not drunk, Jimin. I’m probably a little bit tipsy.”

“Already?” Young Jae sounded astonished.

“She’s a lightweight.” Jimin shrugged. “We used to drink together sometimes in Seoul," he added when he saw Young Jae’s expression.

“Jimin, I missed you," I sighed as I snuggled into his side. Wait, what? I wasn't supposed to be confessing that kind of thing! Or snuggling with him. The alcohol had betrayed me!

At that moment, Young Jae’s phone began to ring. He checked the caller ID and answered it with a worried expression.

“Hello? Yes, okay. Okay, I’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone and checked his watch. “I’ve gotta go. Sorry to bail like this.”

“No, no, it’s fine. Is everything okay?” Jimin asked.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Just something's up with my parents. Take care of her, please.” He turned to me. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow, okay?” Young Jae kissed my forehead and waved goodbye to Jimin.

Once he was gone, Jimin wrapped his arm around my waist. I rested my head on his shoulder and reveled in the warmth of his familiar body.

Everything felt deliciously light and perfect.

“Are you sure you guys aren’t dating?” he asked softly.

“Why? Are you jealous?” I giggled. I couldn’t stop laughing. Being drunk was delightful.

“Yeah,” Jimin whispered. “I’m ing jealous.”