A Thousand Purple Stars (JinJi)

Time Has a Funny Way

"Ugh, fine," Rose said, hopping off the counter and zipping up her thigh-high boots. "But next time, she's our DD."

Lisa bent over and put the scrappy heels on her feet. After they both grabbed their jackets, they screwed the cap back onto the rum bottle and then stored it on the shelf. Then, they headed toward the door. Lisa was just in the middle of telling Rose the beginning of a funny story when they opened the door and tried to step out but found their paths blocked by Jinyoung.

He had his arm stretched out like he was just about to knock on the door, and he looked a little stunned to see Lisa and Rose standing there. He smiled nervously.

"Hi," he said.

"Are you looking for Jisoo?" Rose asked.

"She's in her room," Lisa said as Jinyoung stepped aside and let the girls walk out of their apartment. "But I think she's working on her book or something since she blew off our invitation to go out tonight."

Lisa stepped past Jinyoung, walking towards the elevator lobby, followed by Rose.

"Just make sure you lock the door when you leave in the morning," she joked, and the two disappeared down the corridor, giggling.

Jinyoung felt amused. Taking their quick retreat as an invitation to let himself in, he stepped in and closed the door as he removed his shoes. The last time he'd been in this apartment was when he picked Jisoo up for the Scholars' Gala, which wasn't too long ago. He still remembered which room was hers.

"Hello?" he called out cautiously. When no one answered, he took another step into the living area. "Jisoo?" he called again. Still no answer. He swore Lisa told him that she was here, but then he remembered that she also said that Jisoo was probably writing. He guessed she was probably too deep in focus to hear him.

He walked down the hall and found the door that led to her room and knocked.

Inside, Jisoo's head shot up at the sound. "Lisa?" she called out. The knob turned, and Jisoo's heart stopped seeing Jinyoung walk in instead of Lisa.

She jumped up and tried to cover her work, more out of reflex. Her first reaction should have been to say hello or be more happy that the boy she liked came to see her. Instead, she was more concerned that Jinyoung was here and she was still wearing pajamas, her hair was a mess, she didn't have a speck of makeup on, and she didn't even bother to put on a bra that morning.

And now Jinyoung was in her room, staring at her. She crossed her arms over her chest as if to hide herself.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Jinyoung looked taken aback.

"I... I came to... sorry, is this a bad time?" he said.

He looked like he was about to back out the door, and Jisoo suddenly felt sorry.

"No!" she said. "It's... I mean..." she side-eyed the notebook that was still open on her desk, along with the draft Dara had written. She hurriedly tucked the paper into the notebook, closed it, and then put it aside.

"Were you working?" Jinyoung said.

"Uh, no... uh, not really," Jisoo said. She mentally scolded herself for being rude, but she couldn't help how her nerves flared up. She looked back at Jinyoung. He was wearing an oatmeal-colored crewneck sweater over a pair of jeans. His hair was left tousled by the wind outside, and his eyes looked a little tired. She guessed that he must have gotten off a shift at work and then came to see her. Butterflies awoke in her stomach at the thought.

She cleared her throat. "Sorry," she said. "But... seriously, what are you doing here?"

Jinyoung was studying her, too. He took in her unkempt hair bun and her comfortable clothing and guessed that she must have been holed up in her room all day. He looked over at her desk and was momentarily curious about what she was working on. But her voice called him back to attention and he remembered why he came in the first place.