HYUN [ JJK ]

07

Jaehwa had no idea if Jeongguk was trying to seduce her or he's just being insensitive as usual. Didn't know how the hell he could walk around his house in just a tank top when it's almost winter. Maybe he's used to the temperature of his icy cold heart for him to even bother about the surrounding temperature now. Putting that aside, she couldn't believe that she managed to enter the apartment without bickering with the guy, couldn't believe that Jeongguk was rather friendly today when he closed the door slowly instead of slamming it shut as per usual. Well, maybe it's because Hyun was sleeping in his room, but whatever the real reason was, Jaehwa was glad that he seemed to be in a good mood today for him not to hiss at her for no apparent reason.

Jaehwa looked down at her own hands which were entwined together before her eyes moved to look at Jeongguk who's busy moving the stacks of reference books from the coffee table. She had no intention to keep staring, but his veiny arms managed to catch her attention, the flexion of his biceps when he lifted the books off the table was something Jaehwa had to admit—well, Jeongguk was kinda hot. Jaehwa couldn't deny that he had the look, and with that buff figure and his model-like height, it made sense if he had girls wrapped around his little finger.

Jaehwa tried to look away by throwing her gaze out the balcony, yet she would always find herself looking back at him. She didn't feel this way when she saw Jeongguk shirtless, maybe because he's on a mood swing on that day that those bad impressions he gave to her had blanketed his well-sculptured being. No matter how much she despised him and fuck boys in general, Kim Jaehwa was still a girl, who's naturally attracted to a man. And this man before her eyes, even though he never failed to get on her nerves every time, he's just too breathtaking for Jaehwa to ignore.

Realising what she had been thinking, she quickly shook her head, trying to get rid the thoughts from the back of her mind. Maybe it's almost the time of the month that she suddenly became this hormonal, and on top of all, it's absurd that a prick like Jeongguk even managed to make her heart thump like crazy.

The power of hormones were really amazing and unpredictable.

"Alright, so..." Jeongguk trailed off after he took a seat next to Jaehwa, leaving a small space between them. "First of all, let's promise to not bicker." He stretched out his hand for a handshake, but all Jaehwa could do was staring at it blankly. It took almost a minute for her to bring herself to reply, her stomach flipped a tad bit when Jeongguk wrapped his bigger hand around hers. The warmth radiating off his body made Jaehwa once again curse herself for being taken aback by just a little skinship, holding no meaning but just a promise to not get into a fight.

"I will try to not piss you off, so you have to do the same thing, hmm?" Jeongguk said again, his voice was breathy and soft. Jaehwa wondered if this was what Yerin described as dulcet tone embraces the air like the evening perfume of night flowers.

"Sure."

"Good." Jeongguk leaned forward with his elbows propping his upper body. "Even though I hate to say this, thank you for coming. But let me tell you one thing, I'm still mad that you called me a fuck boy."

Jaehwa swallowed hard, was about to say "but you are" but the promise she had made with Jeongguk just now crossed her mind, causing her tongue to freeze then and there. "So why do you want me to come over? I- I thought you have fired me."

"I have group discussions this week so I'll be home late, or maybe very late." Jeongguk explained, brushing invisible dust off his hands. Jaehwa pursed her lips into a thin line, her fingers fiddling with the end of her blouse when Jeongguk fixed his tank top from sticking onto his chest. "So I need you to look after Hyun until I get home. Can you manage that? Are you okay with going home at night?"

"You made me go home at almost 12AM on my first day of babysitting." Jaehwa deadpanned, cracking a small smile when Jeongguk muttered a small "oh right". "I am okay with that."

"Good." Jeongguk nodded. "As usual, I will ask you to come over so you must be here on time, alright? By the way, you can put Hyun to sleep in my room. The last time when I carried him, he freaking woke up and made me stay up all night long."

Jaehwa only replied with a light nod, unsure if she would feel comfortable to enter Jeongguk's personal space though she had the permission to do so. Maybe Jeongguk wasn't as bratty as she had thought after all, but the thought of thanking him for trusting her vanished when Jeongguk starting shifting his position on the couch.

"I guess we are on good terms now?" Jeongguk suddenly asked, tilting his head towards Jaehwa to have a better look at her.

"Are we?"

"I know that you hate fuck boys but I'm not one of them." Jeongguk squinted his eyes, and before Jaehwa could realise, he was already inching closer, decreasing the gap between them. "Unless you want me to become one?"

The gears of her mind halted for a few seconds upon the proximity. When she felt Jeongguk's breath fanning her face, Jaehwa inched away, her hands made their way to push his chest with all her might.

"What are you doing?!" Jaehwa gritted her teeth, but what she got in return was Jeongguk's evil laugh.

"You are such a good actress. Acting all tough and hating fuck boys when you can't even control your shyness." Jeongguk got up, a spark of disappointment ignited within Jaehwa when he left the living room but she swore she heard what he said before he entered his bedroom.

"Cute."

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a/n:
school starts tomorrow and i have two hours of calculus ugh i should be preparing my mind instead :')

love all of you as always 💜