10PM
Minwoo's P.O.V:
Finally at the end of the day I finish my work in the office and I leave the building.
--
After parking my car underground, I lazily make my way to an empty elevator and press the button to the lobby. I let out a deep sigh and close my eyes shut.
My head is throbbing from all the chaos today. I had so much work to do and I was distracted all day ever since that woman left the office. My overwhelming feelings I had all those years took over me and I sort of..exploded. I may have told her things that were too harsh but I really couldn't help it. Ah..
I run my fingers through my hair in frustration. We're going to have to meet often to talk about my future hotel. I'm not allowed to find another designing company because the MINterior & Co is the top designing company, according to my mom, AKA, the owner.
How am I supposed to face her?! It'll be so awkward! But despite our unpleasant encounter, I can't help but wonder what she's up to at the moment. Since when was she good at interior designing? Does she have a boyfriend?
--
Within minutes, I reach the door of my suite. I grab my keys from my back pocket and fumble at the lock but I end up unlocking the door.
All I want to do is jump into bed and fall asleep. Ugh.
I turn on the lights and head to the kitchen. But first, I need to recharge with food. I open the fridge to see..
Nothing?!
How is this possible??
My stomach starts to growl loudly.
"I'm so hungry..." I shut the fridge door in anger and take out my phone to call my butler to go grocery shopping for me. He does that for me every week.
"Yes sir?"
He answers on the other line.
"Can you go grocery shopping for me?"
"N-Now?"
"Yeah, now."
"W-Well, sir, I'm currently with my family in Daegu."
"Daegu?! Then who will go grocery shopping for me? I haven't eaten all day!" I say angrily. I get angry when I'm hungry, which is another habit of mine that I hate.
"I'm really sorry sir but I have to go."
He hangs up.
What a great day today. Should I order takeout or go to mom's house? Mom's house. Our chef makes the best food EVER.
I switch off the lights and go outside again.
My mouth waters just thinking about food. What should I have? Chicken? Meat? Korean food? Japane-
"Woah! Sorry!" I suddenly bump into a woman coming out of the elevator as I make my way to there.
"Sorry!" A feminine voice I know too well speaks out at the same time as me. I slowly turn to the right, not wanting to know who it is.
My eyes widen at the woman. "You again?!" I point. Her mouth forms an 'o' shape.
"Look Minwoo, it's not like I want to see you ever again either." She rolls her eyes. A flashback appears in my mind. This situation seems too familiar. To think of it, I remember bumping into her this morning.
"Then what in the world are you doing here? You were here this morning too." I observe her intently. She simply glares at me as usual.
"That's none of your business." She starts to walk away from me but I instinctively grab her arm. She stops to look back at me in surprise.
"Of course it's my business. My mom owns this condo." I say as a matter-of-fact.
She gasps. "What?! Mrs. Lee does?! Are you the reason she picked out this condo for me?" Her jaw drops.
"What??" I say in confusion. What is that supposed to mean? She yanks her arm out of my grasp.
"In that case, let's just try not to bump into each other again." She makes her way to her suite which is....NEXT DOOR TO MINE!
How am I supposed to deal with my ex living next door to me?! To annoy her, I walk up from behind and slightly push her back with my elbow. I stifle a laugh as she turns around to glare at me.
"What are you, five??" She shoves me away from her with strong hands. Since when was she that strong? "Leave me alone."
"Yeah, I'm five, like you. We're the same age remember?" I smirk. She scoffs and leans against the wall. She looks so pretty, looking like that... My heart unexpectedly skips a beat.
"Sorry, but I'm twenty nine years young." She courtly says and cracks the door open.
"You mean old? You're an ahjumma now aren't you?" I joke. She turns around and bursts out laughing.
"You idiot. That doesn't make you any different. We're the same age remember?"
"Touché." I shrug.
She grins at my response. All of a sudden I'm starstruck. I can't keep my eyes away from her captivating smile. Her beautiful smile seems even more prettier than before...My heart starts to beat faster. I instantly want to find out more about this mysterious woman.
"Wait, Oh Jin Hee." I call out her name for the first time. As if stuck in time, she freezes just as she is about to enter her suite. When she turns around, her medium-length brown hair flips back elegantly and her cute almond eyes gaze at mine.
"D-Did you just call me-"
A loud growl escapes from my stomach along with the world starting to spin.
My knees go weak and before she can finish her sentence, I crash into her, causing us both fall into her suite.
"YAH! YOU PERVERT!" She pushes me away from her. She grabs a broomstick nearby and stands up, ready to attack.
In this intense atmosphere I begin to laugh hysterically. I sneak a glance at her to see her giving me the most bizarre, confused look I've ever seen that makes me cackle even more. I always laugh at the wrong times.
I finally manage to speak and I take a deep breath. "Remember the time Siwon barged into my room wearing a bathrobe with a broomstick? Man, Jin Hee, you should see your face right now." I say as I chuckle uncontrollably.
"Pfft." Jin Hee can't help but laugh at out hilarious memory. After a long two minutes, her expression shifts to a serious one.
"Anyway, what just happened just now?" She asks innocently. "Are you okay?" She puts an arm around my shoulder and helps me stand back up. I clutch my growling stomach.
"Well, I'm starving."
--
We both settle down at the dining table in the kitchen, slurping some spicy kimchi ramen. Looking around, it looks like her true colours are finally showing its form. There's not a single speck of pink in here.
"Thanks for the meal." I say politely when we finish eating.
"Whatever. Anyway, it's time for you to go." She ties up her hair and turns on the tap at the kitchen sink. Looks like she's going to wash the dishes.
"I'll help." I walk up to her. She waves me off and points to the door.
"Forget it."
"I don't wanna."
I end up helping her with the dishes after some whining. I also lectured her about living efficiently with a dish washer but she ignored me as usual.
"Now will you leave? People will get the wrong idea." She scowls. She's so cute when she does that...
"Fine. I'll leave and I won't bother you again unless..." I trail off.
She raises an eyebrow. "Spit it out."
--
We finally reach our destination.
"Are you kidding me? The supermarket?" She cutely sneers at me in the passenger seat in my car.
"Can you help me go grocery shopping?" I plead. "My butler isn't in Seoul at the moment so you were the only person I thought of who could help me."
She stares at me in disbelief.
"What kind of grown man doesn't know how to go grocery shopping.." She mumbles under her breath. Feeling slightly annoyed, I still keep my cool and gaze at her, waiting for an answer.
A moment of silence passes and she shows some response and gets out of the car. I immediately follow her to the stack of shopping carts right outside the market.
"So is this a yes?" I ask as she inserts a coin in the cart and enters the market without looking at me.
"Whatever. I forgot to buy tomatoes and carrots too so.." She walks around the vegetable/fruits section. I follow closely behind her to observe her quick actions as she goes through a pile of carrots and finally picks out a nice looking one. She also compared two containers full of tomatoes and puts one in in the cart. Wow. Is this how you shop for food?
She turns to me suddenly, making me flinch. I was observing her so intensely she surprised me. "Alright, do you have a shopping list?" She asks. I shake my head.
"Um..okay then what do you have in the fridge right now?" She asks again. I avoid her gaze and scratch my head nervously.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?!" She repeats and sighs. "Then follow me." She gestures to the vegetables in front of her.
She picks out all sorts of vegetables and places them in plastic bags. Next, she moves on to the fruits. I pick up a strange looking fruit and show it to her.
"Uh..what's this?" I ask. She gives me 'the look'. When I don't respond to her 'look', she sighs.
"So you were serious? It's a kiwi. How do you not know what a kiwi is?" She grabs the kiwi from my hand, our fingers slightly touching. Again, my heart skips a beat. What is wrong with me??
"Let's move on to the meat section. You eat it often so we should get plenty of it."
She remembers. I can't believe she still remembers things about me...
She starts to push the cart but I stop her by resting my hand on hers.
"It's okay. I'll push it so lead the way." Looking at her directly just makes me nervous...
---
An hour later, Jin Hee gathers a bunch of food in the cart including beverages, deserts and snacks. I pay for everything and together we carry the shopping bags to the trunk of the car.
We settle down in our car seats in exhaustion, watching other people coming out of the market carrying grocery bags.
"You're lucky the supermarket is still open at midnight." Jin Hee breaks the silence. I chuckle quietly.
"Thanks for helping me out. Again." I smile. She smiles back ever so sweetly. She's been so nice to me lately.
She shakes her head in despair. "You're really helpless, you know."
"I know. But is there anything I can do to repay you?"
She thinks about that for less than a second and answers, "Can you extend the due date for the designing of your hotel?" She asks brightly. My smile turns into a frown and I look away.
"I..I really can't. I'm sorry, Jin Hee." There I go again, saying her name so easily as if nothing ever happened between us. Why am I suddenly getting along with her when I have a fiancée?
"Is it because of your wedding?" She asks bluntly. I slowly nod.
"Mom and Sandara's family already agreed on the date of the wedding. It's going to be the beginning of a huge collaboration between our companies. And it's also the day we're going to reveal our relationship to the public."
"Sandara..the owner of a famous spa resort?"
"Yeah."
Another moment of silence passes by.
"Oh well. It can't be helped. Congratulations in advance." She smiles, showing off her beautiful teeth. Why do her eyes seem so sad?
I sigh deeply, unable to look at her sad eyes any longer. "To be honest, I think of her as a younger sister. We meant when we were kids and the adults already agreed we were getting married in the future. The only reason I agreed to this arranged marriage is to make my mom happy. Ever since grandma passed away, I did whatever I could to fulfill most of her wishes." I explain. But the main reason was because I didn't have anyone I loved.
Jin Hee grins and glances up at me. "That is so you, Minwoo."
I feel my cheeks heating up and look away awkwardly.
"What about you? Do you have..." I stop myself, suddenly feeling unprepared for her response.
"What? A boyfriend?" She asks. I nod. I guess she's good at reading people.
"I-"
Her phone starts to ring.
"Hey." She answers the phone after the first ring. "Why I'm still up? Uh..I went grocery shopping. Are you actually worried about me? Yah! I'm an adult now. See you tomorrow." She hangs up. Was that her boyfriend?
"Anyway, back to what I was saying-"
"Let's just relax and listen to music."
Without further due, I start the engine and turn on the radio. I don't want to ruin the nice atmosphere. Anyway, whether or not she has a boyfriend isn't any of my business.
Right?
But why do I feel a pang in my heart? It hurts.
------
A/N- Haai! Oh my, is Minwoo falling for Jin Hee?? You'll slowly find out soon...ツ Thanks for reading~! ღ