Two Of A Kind || Lee Heeseung

19 ¦ His Clothes & Sleepover?

When I left the bathroom, I first looked around a bit searching. I heard noises from a room to my right, on the other side of the stairs, and took a few steps in that direction.

A small but cozy kitchen opened up in front of me, the walls were painted a pleasant Bordeaux red and the cabinets were black, making the room feel warm and friendly, just like in the entryway.

Jay was standing at a kitchen island cooking ramen in a pot. "Thank you," I said, gesturing to the clothes I was wearing. Jay raised his head and looked at me "Oh, you're welcome. I'm making demae ramen right now, would you like some?", he asked me and I glanced at the clock, which already read half past seven.

I hadn't realized how long I had been walking around outside and that it was already getting so late. I must have seemed a little absentminded, because Jay suddenly stood in front of me and touched me on the arm, and I flinched in surprise.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly and I nodded slightly. "Yeah sorry I was just thinking." "So do you like to eat now?" A slight smile played around the corners of his mouth. I nodded with a smile. "Sure I'd love to." "Good."

He took his arm off mine and a slight tingle ran up my arm. Irritated, I squinted my eyes and shook my head before walking over to Jay and sitting down on a bar stool that was by the kitchen island, he smiled briefly at me and then returned his attention to the food.

"Where are your parents?", I asked him. His smile faded and a steep crease formed between his eyebrows, which he pulled together slightly. That had been the wrong question then.

I was just about to tell him he didn't have to answer when he already started talking. "They're on a business trip." He said coldly and his jaw tightened. I just nodded, not wanting to ask further because it didn't seem to be a pleasant topic for him.

Feverishly I looked for another topic of conversation to break the silence that had opened up between us, but my cell phone beat me to it. I pulled it out of the pocket of my sweater and looked at the display.

It was my mother, she had tried to call me several times today but I hadn't answered and had only sent her a message saying I was fine.

Indecisive, I stared at the number and Jay cleared his throat. "Don't you want to answer it?" he asked as he added salt to the noodles. I looked up at him and the phone in my hand stopped vibrating. I shrugged and placed it on the countertop in front of me. "She hung up anyway." I just said and Jay nodded curtly.

Only a second, however, the display flared up again and a message from my mom appeared, asking when I would be home. Jay, who must have been reading overhead, put aside the spoon he was stirring the noodles with. "Do you have to get home? I could drive you, it's still raining."

He cast a meaningful glance out the window but I shook my head. "I don't want to go home. Not yet anyway." I replied, muttering. "You can stay here, my parents aren't around anyway, so we'd have a room available if you like.", came back quickly from him and I looked at him in surprise.

Thoughtfully, I pulled my lower lip between my teeth and chewed on it. "It really wouldn't be a big deal. I'd sleep in my parents' bedroom and you could have my room." I thought for a moment. Was it really smart to sleep over at a boy's house whose parents weren't home?

I wasn't sure if Jay really just had it in mind to let me sleep alone in his bed or if he was just saying that. On the other hand, he had accepted my limits so far and it wasn't that we didn't know each other. After all, we had been on a date together before.

"Would you really be okay with that?", I cautiously inquired and had the impression that his face brightened up a bit, which gave me a queasy feeling in the stomach area. Unsettled by this feeling, I shifted my weight to the other foot to put some distance between us and felt myself blush a little.

After Jay confirmed that it wouldn't be a problem, I texted my mom that I would be sleeping at Riki's. She wouldn't allow me to sleep with anyone but Sunoo, Riki, or a girl, I knew that.

After my mom agreed rather reluctantly, I took the precaution of calling Riki to let him know that he had to cover for me in case my mom called. I left the room to make the call and found the living room, where I slumped down on an armchair.

"Hello?" my best friend's voice on the other side of the line answered and a slight smile crept onto my face as I heard his familiar voice. "Hi Riki."  "Clara, what's up?" He sounded a little concerned. It was rather rare that we talked on the phone. The only person I did that with regularly was Sunoo, and that was more because of him than me.

"You have to cover for me." I explained to him now. "My mom thinks I'm spending the night at your place and if she calls you have to tell her that's the way it is," I said. "Sure." Came the reply immediately and after a moment, "Where are you that your mom can't know?"

I hesitated for a second and Riki sighed audibly "Now tell me." "I'm at Jay's." I said, lowering my voice. "Jay? Park Jay? The Jay you were on a date with?" Riki's voice sounded unusually high pitched by his standards and he seemed openly visibly surprised.

I had to grin intuitively "Which Jay else?" I asked, amused. "I mean I'm just surprised, you're usually the reserved type." Riki just said and I heard footsteps running down the stairs. They sounded lighter and not like Jay, which is why I turned around, but I couldn't see the stairs from where I was sitting.

"It's not that way either." I defended my virginity half-heartedly as I stood up and walked to the door to see who the second person was, because now I could also hear a higher voice that was clearly not Jay's.

"Hey Riki this is a bit of a longer story, I'll tell you all about it Monday at school okay?" "Alright, but Clara?" I jammed the phone between my ear and my shoulder and bent down to the pants, one leg of which had rolled back up "Huh?", was all I said.

Riki made a strange noise. "Take care of yourself and don't get involved in anything you don't want to." He sounded serious and I thought it was cute that he seemed to care about me. I smiled "Don't worry, we'll sleep in separate beds." I assured him and he seemed reassured "Alright." "Well I have to hang up now. See you on Monday." I said and hung up shortly after.

As I crossed the hall and approached the kitchen I heard the high pitched voice screech and shortly after Jay's roar. Irritated and also extremely curious, I followed into the kitchen wondering who the other person was.

For a brief moment I feared that it might have been a girl, and for some reason that thought stung me. It probably wasn't that unlikely, after all he was one of Heeseung's closest friends and he was known for a lot of things.

But when I entered the kitchen, something awaited me that I had not expected at all.

A/N: What do you think who is it?