Evolution of a lover's heart | jjk

18

"So, how was it?"

You're not wearing a jacket, so all you do is zip down your hoodie and step out of your shoes.

"It was alright. Turns out that you get more work done when you don't have someone to distract you," you tease, and Jeongguk is too excited to finally see you again to overthink it.

"You're saying I'm a distraction?"

"I mean... sometimes?" you giggle. "But it's worth it. A thousand times over."

Before he knows it, he's lunging forward to engulf you in a loose hug. "I missed you."

A little surprised, you use one hand to hold onto your laptop for dear life and the other to stroke his back lovingly. "Missed you too."

After letting go, you head in the direction of his living room. Jeongguk follows, secretly loving the way you navigate his apartment as if it's your home too.

"Can we sit here today? I don't have a ton to do, just prepare for a few meetings I have with the publishers and stuff next week."

"Sure," Jeongguk agrees, turning towards the kitchen himself. "Want anything?"

"Uh, a Coke would be great, thank you."

When he opens his fridge, his hand acts on pure muscle memory. You prefer Coke Zero, sometimes Fanta, and so he grabs two Cokes, closing the fridge and picking up his forgotten laptop from the kitchen table where he'd been sitting before you rang the doorbell.

A few seconds later, he places your can in front of you and sits down on the other end of the couch.

"By the way, do you know who I ran into on the way here?" you ask, starting up your laptop.

"Who?"

"Mrs. Kim. I hadn't seen her for super long, even before the trip, but apparently, she's been ill? But she saw me and stopped to chat."

Jeongguk opens the can and brings it to his lips. You've gone silent, watching him with a knowing look.

He keeps his gaze on his laptop as he opens it with one hand on his thighs. "Uh-huh."

"And apparently, the handsome, young man who just moved in next door has been helping her get groceries? And promising to help her repaint the living room?"

"Uh," he starts, unsure of what to say. Perhaps he even feels his cheeks heat up just a tiny bit. "I mean, the store is right around the corner... And she's old and short..."

You laugh, a sound so pleasant to his ears he almost turns his head just to admire you. "Still. It's very sweet of you, and she just wouldn't stop gushing about you and how helpful you are. And handsome, she mentioned that quite a few times, actually."

"Oh, uh okay. Thank you, I mean." Ugh, why is he so dumb? Can't even express himself properly. Well, he can. Just not around you.

It falls silent. Far from uncomfortable, just quiet as it always is when the both of you are concentrating. He's immensely relieved Mrs. Kim didn't seem to have spilled anything else to you. Although not mentioning you by name, Jeongguk definitely shared a bit too much about his unrequited love. He didn't mean to, it's just something about that sweet old lady that makes him start blabbering.

Jeongguk logs into his business email, reading and replying, and planning and booking. When there are no longer any unread emails, he turns to his other platforms. Incredibly enough, he's been able to gain a relatively large following on Instagram, and so his DMs are filled with questions and comments and booking requests. He's self-taught, both as a photographer and editor, but fortunately, education isn't always a necessity these days.