i stare at elena for a second, dumbfounded at how ridiculous this girl is.
then i turn on my heel, heading towards the stairs.
"hey." she says to me.
i turn back to her impatiently, quite clearly annoyed by her presence.
"just because you live here, don't think you know him like i do." she says.
i pause, my eyes narrowing. "what's that supposed to mean?"
"just, keep your distance from him." she tells me.
"why should i do that?" i say, almost amused.
"you wouldn't be the first girl who thinks she can make a move on him. the whole school is head over heels for him, and only one girl has ever been with him." she says. that one girl is her. i don't know why she feels the need to say this though. she has no idea how close yeonjun and i are. we could hate each other for all she knows.
"right..." i say, confused at what she's trying to achieve here.
"just...stay away from him." she says again.
"is this you marking your territory? you might as well just pee all over him." i say. "you broke up." i remind her.
"you don't know him like i do." she says.
"okay? well the yeonjun i know would probably find it weird that you're telling the girl who lives with him to stay away from him." i say, resisting the urge to laugh.
"look, i don't know what he's told you about me-"
"enough." i say. "he's told me enough." then i go downstairs before she can say anything else.
i sigh. who the hell does she think she is? marching into his house uninvited, demanding to talk with him while he's in the shower and then trying to ward me away from him as if he's her property.
i move the blanket from the sofa that i was using, and head towards the tv to turn it off. making my way upstairs, i hear yeonjun quietly say to elena "okay, go in. keep quiet. my sister is sleeping."
when i reach the top of the stairs, i can see through yeonjun's open door that she's sat on the end of his bed while he heads back towards the bathroom with his towel over his shoulder. when he spots me, he ever so slightly shakes his head - telling me he doesn't want to be in this situation with her. i smile to him slightly, to humour him, but also as a goodnight. i head into my room, wondering what the hell is going to happen in yeonjun's bedroom tonight. i have a horrible feeling about this.
i end up passing out on my bed after a while. they must have been talking for ages. what were they even talking about?
i wake up to the sound of the front door closing, and juwon going "was that elena?!"
i roll over to check the time. just gone two am. what? juwon has arrived, just as elena left. why the hell was she here that long? i have the most horrible stir in my stomach at the thought. what else would they have been doing? why else would she be sneaking out of the house at two in the morning? please don't tell me they just did what i think they did.
i hear two pairs of feet ascending the staircase.
"dude, did you just hook up with elena?" juwon questions him.
i listen in, but at the same time, i don't want to know.
"juwon, i'm not talking to you about it." yeonjun responds.
"but what about cha-"
"juwon, just go to bed." yeonjun says.
"why won't you answer me?" juwon asks.
"will you just shut up?" yeonjun says.
"no-"
"i'll tell mom you were out until two am." yeonjun threatens him.
"then i'll tell her that i caught elena sneaking out at two am." juwon responds.
there's a deadly silence, and even i can sense the tension from this side of the door.
"yeonjun, why was she here?" juwon asks. "she's such a toxic bitch, you've got to stop-"
"don't say that." yeonjun says.
is he defending her?
"why not? you always say it."
"yeah, i'm allowed to. she's my ex."
"so why was she here?" juwon questions again.
"i didn't invite her." he says harshly, but controlling the volume, careful not to wake jihye up.
"then what the hell happened?" juwon asks.
"she just rocked up saying she needed to talk and then-"
"and then you hooked up?" juwon assumes.
"why are you assuming the worst?" yeonjun asks him.
"because i've lost count of how many times she ends up in your bedroom in the middle of the night!" juwon responds, in the same quiet but confrontational tone.
what? do they hook up all the time? yeonjun implied that he hated her, and that they used to be on and off but now they're done for good. judging by what juwon just said, i don't think he was being completely honest with me. there's the horrible tug inside, this weighted feeling, making me feel disgusted and betrayed at the same time.
why am i feeling like this? i've known him a week. i shouldn't expect him to tell me every little thing about his relationships. he's allowed to hook up with whoever the hell he likes.
"yeonjun, why are you still doing this?" juwon questions him. "what about chaewon?"
my heart pounds at the mention of my name.
"what do you mean 'what about chaewon'?" yeonjun huffs.
there's a pause. "come on, it's so obvious." juwon sighs.
"what is?"
"you like her."
"yeah, she's cool-"
"no, yeonjun. you like her." juwon says. "i've seen the way you look at her. you're always spending time with her. she makes you happier. i can tell-"
"juwon, you're fourteen. you don't know what you're talking about."
"sure. okay." juwon sighs. "but elena shouldn't have been here this late. you shouldn't have let her. you know it." juwon says.
"just go to bed, juwon." yeonjun says, before i hear his bedroom door close.
i stare up at the ceiling. why do i feel so hurt? why do i feel so vulnerable? yeonjun can do whatever the hell he like with that stuck-up brat. why should i care? i don't care.
except i do. why do i care?
then next morning comes and i feel sluggish and horrible. the thought of elena sleeping with yeonjun, when i feel this way about him, it makes me feel so crushed and horrible. i guess that confirms my feelings for him. in the worst way.
i'm sat at the kitchen island, picking at my food with my fork absentmindedly. yeonjun's parents must have arrived early this morning. sehun is stood at the stove, cooking everyone a full english breakfast while jihye does a spot the difference in a magazine. siwoo's reading something from her phone, and juwon is not really doing anything. he's being quiet with me. i keep catching him looking at me, but then he glances away innocently. he's trying to work out what happened last night, i know he is.
then yeonjun walks in.
"morning." siwoo says to him.
"hey." he responds half heartedly, clearly feeling tired and groggy.
as he pulls out the stool from beside me, he places his hand lightly on my back. the thought of his hands on me after his night with elena makes me feel gross and i sort of flinch. i didn't mean to do that.
he looks at me with a puzzled face. "you okay?" he asks me.
i glance towards him and his annoyingly cute messy hair, before nodding half-heartedly. everyone is oblivious except for yeonjun and juwon. i look down at my food, but can sense the two of them looking at each other across the island. i see juwon shrug slightly in the corner of my eye.
i hate this. i feel so weird right now.
"what are you up to today then?" siwoo asks, tuning into the room and out from her phone.
"uh...not sure yet." yeonjun says.
"you'll have to get the jar, won't you?" siwoo smiles, remembering the lolly pop sticks from last night.
"jar?" juwon questions. he's ignored.
"good idea." yeonjun says, seizing the opportunity for some privacy. "come on chaewon."
oh no.
resisting the urge to throw my head back and scream, i follow him out of the room.