Chapter 13
PARK SOOHYUN
Unknown Number
Hey
This is Jungkook
I got your new number from Tae
I will delete this of course if you're uncomfortable
So yeah
I just wanna personally invite you out for a drink
To catch up you know
If that's fine with you
And oh, don't worry
We've got Tae and Dr. Nam Jiwon joining us tonight
Please text me back if everything's good
Have a great day
Hi
Yeah it's okay
Oh hey didn't expect you'd reply but thank you :)
Will wait for you later
Ok
Happy lunch break
Taehyung
<<image attached>>
You gave your best friend my number
we're cool but I don't trust this yet
Just so you know
Then why did you accept his invite?
Lol
Both of you are idiots
Anyway see you later
. . .
By the time we met outside the hospital, pretty much everyone looked jaded. Like the day beat us up and there was no energy left for us to smile. Jungkook and Taehyung quickly introduced Dr. Nam Jiwon to me and we told them we met each other a few times already and she said she couldn't wait to talk to me properly. We didn't talk much after that and only exchanged a few nods before each one of us drove to Nite Life except Taehyung who had to get in Jungkook's car. Everything didn't feel weird until we all sat down at the table and started to talk over the drinks we had ordered. Taehyung found a seat next to me while the two sat comfortably across from us.
With my first sip I wondered if this was wrong. It was awkward at first but I thought it could be just on my part, and for a brief time no one spoke, just the noise of chatters and music drifting in the air that made the inexplicably discomfort fade away.
One of us initiated a light conversation afterwards, mostly about work. It was hard to ignore Jungkook who was struggling to find the best sitting position he could get comfortable with, all the while focusing on his beer. Jiwon commented that he should talk but only returned a chuckle when Jungkook explained that there was nothing interesting about his day.
"I know quite a few things about you," Jiwon said to me, a smile threading across her lips. She had managed to convince me to address her just by her first name. Her admission made me jittery all of a sudden and I didn't know if she was about to say something I wouldn't like. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not a gossiper. Taehyung had mentioned you and I genuinely think you're nice and cool."
I felt relief linger in my chest, not bothering to ask whatever Taehyung said about me. My eyes flitted over to Taehyung who stared back at me wordlessly as he enjoyed his Whiskey Ginger.
"I'm glad he didn't snitch on me," I answered.
"I'd never do that to you," Taehyung defended himself.
"How long have you known these two?" Jiwon asked me as she tucked the strands of hair behind her ears. I began to notice how collected she was, making little, graceful movements. Her voice was low and refined when she talked but the way she laughed was just infectious.
I was starting to be comfortable around her presence.
"We were college batch mates. But I've only got to talk to them this year when I transferred to Severance."
"Oh, how were they back in medical school?" Jiwon leaned over the table, her eyebrows turning up on the corners out of curiosity and excitement. I laughed because I would look stupid if I told her the things I had noticed watching them from afar years ago and there was no way I wouldn't seem like a creep because how would I be able to explain my bizarreness when these men didn't even pay me attention before? I wasn't planning to embarrass myself tonight.
"I have no idea. We weren't really friends. I'm sorry about that," I said to play it safe. I felt Taehyung's foot lightly nudge mine under the table. I had a feeling he would burst out laughing at my statement and just expose me.
Nam Jiwon and Taehyung spoke way more than I did when we we talked about life and the excruciating parts of our job. I would try to ask Jungkook about how he was doing to make it clear that we were finally okay. I didn't like Jungkook that way anymore but we hadn't spoken in several months that it was hard to find a topic we would resonate with. It didn't help that someone else out of the issue was here with us, and she might have an idea about what happened before.
In the middle of the conversation, Taehyung had his hand on my lower back as if he was trying to give me support. I had to subtly tap his hand away so he could take the hint I didn't need it tonight. When would he be truly convinced that I had already moved on from his best friend? Being this obviously weird would make Jungkook think otherwise.
I saw Jungkook shift in his seat when Nam Jiwon gingerly placed her hand on his lap while she was animatedly babbling about her Maldives vacation last year. I glanced away when Jungkook saw me looking at him. Why did this man look constipated? Jiwon was clearly trying to be affectionate and he was subtly avoiding every move she made. I concluded that perhaps he was still stuck in the process of getting accustomed to whatever set-up they had. He had expressed his lack of interest in intimacy many times before and it could be that the whole thing still made it confining for him although he liked Jiwon.
Over the next minutes, he was silently downing his shots, only listening to the conversation. Jiwon would check him every once in a while and he would tell her he wasn't drunk yet.
I found myself enjoying Taehyung's jokes and Jiwon's med school stories. Then she started talking about snippets of her life. She was the youngest in her family. Trapped with overprotective older siblings and male-dominated relatives. She said her paternal relatives mostly worked in medical field and that influenced her profession choice. Taehyung complained about having to endlessly pay for his student loan which helped finance his medical education and being broke without a car of his own at the age of thirty. I told him that it was okay, and if he needed any help, I'd be willing to lend him a part of my savings but Taehyung quickly refused and said that he only needed to vent out his frustrations.
Jungkook joined and shared a few stories and I was controlling every shot I drank, reminding myself I couldn't get caught and arrested for drunk driving. Jiwon followed me when I left the group for awhile and I situated on the bar stool, my hand around my glass.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," I said.
"Have you moved on?"
"Huh?"
"I meant, have you moved on from Jungkook? I have no intentions to put it in a bad way... I'm just curious. Please don't think Taehyung and Jungkook told me anything about it. I've just accidentally heard a few things before we went out on casual dates. Nothing too serious. All of them were jokes that Taehyung used to tease Jungkook then I've put two and two together but I don't know the whole story..."
"It's okay. I didn't think I would but I got over him somehow. Thankfully."
"Honest?"
I nodded, half-smiling. I wondered why the topic didn't seem to make her a bit uncomfortable.
She sighed. "I hope I can do that... I dated other men but I'd always look for Jungkook. Whenever I see him, it's just hard to let go. His presence is overpowering you can't just turn your eyes away. That's a little dramatic, yeah? But it's true. No matter how frequently he told me we're not going to work, I didn't listen... But hey, I've come this far. So I guess there's hope for me." She was staring into space. "I've somehow convinced him to try... A bit of negotiations, you know... I know he doesn't like me that way... But who knows? He's not an expressive type of person and I hope he's starting to be interested in me... I genuinely like him but whatever happens in the end, I know what I got myself into."
I was lost and I didn't know what I even wanted to say. I just felt like Jiwon inexplicitly revealed something I shouldn't know but I kept to myself. Negotiations? I brushed it off quickly because there wasn't anything in that information that concerned me.
"I made a fool out of myself chasing after him. It's funny looking back," I said.
"I know, right? I also did crazy things for him but he had always pretended to be dense."
"To be honest with you, I don't want to talk about it anymore," I said so we could put an end to the subject, and hopefully shift to another.
"Shit, sorry about that, Soohyun. It just makes me feel excited talking about him... So, I've heard from Taehyung you are fashion conscious and I've noticed that, too! What tips can you give me?"
I grinned at her. "I'm glad you asked."
. . .
Jiwon had actively listened to me and inquired every question I was interested to say. I had to let her go when she excused herself and made her way over to Jeon Jungkook who was having a conversation with his best friend.
I asked for another glass and the bartender tended to me, shooting me a smile. I recognized he was the owner and the same man who made my drink and flirted with me the last time I came at this bar.
"I thought I wouldn't see you coming here again. Glad I took this shift tonight," he started.
I swore I was still sober but something warm and fuzzy invaded my system. Then, I was giggling. I stopped, cursing internally at how stupid it was. "You've been waiting for me to be back here?"
"As a matter of fact. How does that make you feel?"
"I feel terrified."
He smiled. "Sorry. I didn't intend to make that sound creepy. It's just that... you're still interesting to me." After he was finished making my drink, he slid the cocktail glass across the bar towards me. He stayed in front of me, resting his elbows on the counter.
"I really have that impact, I guess," I said.
He laughed and nodded. "I agree."
"You look much better now."
"Oooh, thank you. You're still gorgeous."
"I know, right?"
The man laughed again as if I was the funniest person he had ever met. Amusement glinted in his eyes as he looked at me. "I'm Kim Namjoon. Do you remember?"
"Yeah."
"Cool. And actually, I really like your confidence."
"Most people find it annoying."
"Maybe because you rub it in people's faces too much?"
"Maybe I look too pretty that even when I don't say anything, my face alone speaks for itself?" I answered to humor him a little more and I found it entertaining whenever he would laugh at every word I said.
"You mentioned before that you're a doctor."
"Cardiothoracic surgeon in the making, actually."
"That's so cool."
"It's been a tough journey."
"This stranger is proud of you."
I stared at his face, feeling my stomach churn in unexplainable feeling. If I would be honest, although he might have not meant that because we barely knew each other, I was a little taken aback by what he said. "Thank you." I hadn't heard that from anyone in a long while.
"Also you told me before you're pursuing this guy... What happened?"
I shrugged my shoulders, feeling embarrassed to say the truth, but I did. "Nothing happened. But it's over and we're okay. It took time to accept it..."
"Ah, that must have been hard for you, considering how confident you appeared to me that night. You looked so hopeful that you would get the guy."
"You're right. But let's not talk about that."
"Sure..." He was quiet for a moment. "I want to get straight to the point. Can I get your number?"
"Why?"
"I'd like to get to know you more. If it's even okay with you, I'd also like to take you out on a date. Friendly date first then we'll see how it goes."
I couldn't contain my grin. "That's too much of a plan especially when this is only the second time we met and we're only strangers."
"Oh, my bad." Kim Namjoon looked flustered, dropping his head with a laugh. He looked up and told me, "I don't even know your name."
I paused for a few seconds, thinking if I should answer his indirect request, and it seemed harmless. "Park Soohyun." I laughed. "I'm thirty." Telling him my age seemed harmless either.
"Thank for letting me know."
"I'm not comfortable about the friendly date you're talking about but... we can talk on the phone?"
"For starters?" He smiled at me. He has such an adorable smile. And those dimples.
I sat there, uncertain. I just had no clear vision of what I was supposed to do. All I knew was that I was having fun at the moment. "I think so..." I can't believe I'm flirting with him.
"You've never dated?" Kim Namjoon looked like he didn't believe me.
"I've never let anyone date me before. I was busy wanting this guy to date me."
"I'm sorry it didn't go the way you wanted it to."
"It's fine."
"Are there some rules on texting you? Like, don't bother you at work?"
"You can message me whenever and I'll reply only when it's convenient for me. I don't usually use my phone when I'm working."
"Noted." After that we both held out our phones, typing in each other's numbers.
That night I could remember laughing a lot with him.
. . .
"I saw what you did," Taehyung said to me while we were walking out of Nite Life.
"What do you mean?"
"I think you exchanged phone numbers with the bartender guy. Both of you looked like you were enjoying each other's company."
"You don't need to know about it."
"I thought I earned your trust."
"You might jinx this. He's nice. He said he likes me."
Taehyung made cheerful noises. "I hope that turns out well, though. I'm here to look out for you, Ma'am."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not a kid."
"Who knows if you suck at seeing red flags?" I only laughed out as a response.
"Jungkook's drunk," I mentioned because he wobbled on his steps, his eyes squinting a lot as if he was in pain.
"I'm tipsy," Jungkook stubbornly corrected. Jiwon escorted him to his car, helping him collapse into the front passenger seat.
"Taehyung?" she called out.
"Don't worry about him. I'll drive and take him home. Buddy has had too much to drink tonight."
"What about you, guys?" Jungkook was referring to me and Nam Jiwon. The latter announced she had to go home and she would just see us tomorrow. "Be safe, Ji," Jungkook said to her before she got in her car and we all watched her speed off.
"I'm leaving, too. Drive safely, Taehyung. How are you going home then?"
"I'll take a cab from his place."
"Soohyun?" Jungkook called me from inside of his car. I took steps closer to where he was and peered inside, finding him almost passed out in his seat. He absolutely chugged down too much of beer.
"Need something?" I asked him.
He groaned and closed his eyes, resting his head on the car seat head rest. "Be safe on your way home."
"Thank you," I said to him before I told them goodbye and left, wanting to sleep as soon as I could.
. . .
Taehyung
Text me when you get home so he knows you're safe
Asking for a friend
Not funny. I'm home btw.
Haha
The rest of the evening slid by in a haze. I had successfully managed to drag myself into the shower to wash up even if my eyelids were heavy and drooping.
It didn't take too long to fall asleep.
It was around midnight when I stirred awake and the consecutive sounds of message ringtone of my phone greeted my ears. I rolled to the other side of the bed, taking my phone from the nightstand.
It took me a confusing minute to figure out from whom the texts were.
Unknown Number
Hey
Sprry
Sorry** to text you this late
You're probsbly aslrrpd
Asleep**
But if you're thimking I'm a horrible person for rejecting you then casually seeing someone, I'm sorry coz I didn't kmow it wyuld happen too
And she's nit my girlfriend
She's rwally not
We're not official. Dpctor Nam and I are still friends
Hope we can hsng out agajn together
With others of course
Also sorry if I was still awkward back there
Anyway heard from Tae that the bartrnder got your number... he looks fun tho wish you the best
Goodnight my head hurts so much
See u tom
Wait final question
Do you like Taehyung?
Just a heads up he can be dense
Will keep it a secret if u like him
Do you?
I turned off my phone and ignored the unprecedented late night drunk texts.
I lay in my room, staring at the ceiling and wondering why would Jungkook send those messages. I decided not to reply to any of those and whatever answer I might have, he didn't need to know because we owed each other nothing. He wasn't supposed to feel sorry because he had the right to date any person he liked. Other than that, it had been made clear that I had moved on and I wasn't bearing any grudge against his choice because I didn't have every right to be mad.
I closed my eyes so I could think of anything else and be driven away from the confusion slowly clawing at the edges of my brain.
》AUTHOR'S NOTE《
i love slow-burn
originally i planned this to be just about fluff but the way this story is going i guess expect lots of angst (?) not sure but yeah
thank you for the votes and comments! i highly appreciate them <3
wherever you are, i hope you are safe and healthy.