We both sat there on the couch, watching the soccer game late at night, the only thing separating us was the big tub of popcorn laying in the space between us.
"Oh! OH! They're about to score a goal!" I said as I jumped up from my comfortable position and sat upright against the edge of the couch.
Me and Eunri have been extremely tired lately and I'm not sure what it could be. The overtime hours at the diner perhaps? I don't know...
But in order to compensate for that, I made a date night thing where we just stay at home, watch TV, cover ourselves in blankets, and cuddle with each other.
Well, maybe I should've thought this more through. I'm not cuddling... I'm on the verge of smashing my TV if the team doesn't score a goal now.
Oops...
I turn to look back at the woman sitting next to me and see her also completely immersed in the game, occasionally picking out a handful of popcorn now and then.
I grinned... she's so focused right now, she probably has no idea I'm looking at her.
"Jungkook, I can see you from the corner of my eye... you might want to take a look at the game, they're about to score."
My eyes expanded.
"Wah! Jinjja?!" I exclaimed as I rapidly turned my head to look at the screen.
My mouth dropped. We were about to score.
The opposing team's defense was failing.
I clenched my fists. SCORE A GOAL!
"RUNNN!! RUNNNN!!!! COME ONN!! NE!!! NE!!!! THAT'S GOOD NOW... THAT'S GOOD!! NOW BRING IT HOME. RUNNN!!!! DON'T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE, ARRASEO?!?!"
I could hear Eunri laughing in the background.
It caused me to lift my cheeks and smile for myself.
My eyes widened.
Wait... this is really happening. The team is finally gonna make a comeback!!!
I saw many passes being made. Defense on the opposing team was starting to get tight...
Wait! There's an opening!
WAH! HE'S GOING FOR IT!!!!
He shoots...
And he doesn't score?
0_o
What. Just. Happened.
I sit back down on the couch. Apparently I stood up somewhere in my agressive cheer. I released the death grip I had in my hands from making a fist for so long. My knuckles look pretty white...
Oh gosh.
I looked back at the screen.
Oh! It's the replay. Lemme see...
Huh? Everything looks perfect! Shooting distance. No interferences. Clean. It should've been a goal!
Wait. Where's the ball aiming at?
It's not going to the left or right.
It's dead center...
My eyes widened as I saw the ball hit the goalie of the opposing team and bounce off his head. He wasn't expecting it either so it knocked him to the ground.
"PFF..."
I couldn't hold it in.
"PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
I leaned back into the couch and started to laugh at the replays the screen showed.
"IT BOUNCED RIGHT OFF HIS HEAD!!!"
I placed a hand on my stomach in order to control my laughter.
"Woo~ Priceless!"
"That must've hurt..." I heard her say softly.
I looked at her curiously.
"Hmm?"
"Having a ball thrown at you and having it bounce off your head can hurt someone..."
I looked at her incredulously.
"I wonder if he's okay... it makes me sad that he got hit."
Okay... this is bizarre.
She loves this team... on most days, she never shows sympathy for the opposing team. In fact, she gets more into it then I do, and more aggresive too. It's weird that she is feeling bad for the other team though.
I mean, it was funny. The ball randomly came out of nowhere and bounced off his head. I don't see it as being THAT dangerous but... I guess everyone interprets situations differently.
But this is surely a first... we always have the same opinions on the sports we watch. We get competitive and have a blast at cheering for our team.
I couldn't help but notice the extreme look of sadness she felt for the goalie of the opposite team... I know it can't be that bad to show some sympathy once in a while. I do it too, but her look displayed the kind of sadness you would get when your most valuable possession got taken away from you, never to return to your hands again.
She looked like she about to cry for that goalie.
I'm concerned.
Maybe she got reminded about something that happened to her in the past?
Should I talk to her?
I glanced at her only to see her falling asleep on the armrest of the couch.
I warmly smiled.
Nah... I should let it be. She was probably just tired.
Sweet dreams... jagi.
------------------------------
···At Work···
I was, of course, in the kitchen making dishes when Eunri passed by for more plates. I don't know if it's me but...
She looked angry today.
Her face expresssion said it all. I don't know why, but I'll keep note to talk to her about it later.
If anything, it could be the fact that she didn't want to get up in the morning to come to work.
Yeah, I'm gonna leave it that way.
Oh!
She's coming!
I quickly did the usual ritual of switching the plates she had with mine. She looked at me for a few seconds, clicked her tongue, and rolled her eyes at me as she turned around and disappeared through the main kitchen door.
I stood there with a curious expression on my face.
She's probably in a bad mood... I should just leave her be.
I turned around to face my messy kitchen area when I took another glance back at the kitchen door, pondering why she acted the way that she did.
She would mostly say something though... by not saying anything she made me feel like I did something wrong. I do this trick everyday though!
I huff out.
Ugh...
I should just stop thinking so much about it. Maybe it's nothing and she just had a bad morning... that's all.
Yeah. That's it.
Now, back to work.
As I was cooking away I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder, I jumped up and threatened the person with my spatula.
They put their hands up in surrender with a mocking smile on their face.
I quickly released my grip on the spatula and lowered my hand as I saw who it was.
"B- boss! Oh! Um... how ya doin?" I stammered.
She took me by surprise.
She looked at me some more before she started laughing.
"Whoo! Jungkook, you sure are a weird one..."
I could feel my cheeks getting warmer by the second.
You pabo... why the spatula?
"Anyways... I came here to ask you a favor."
My eyes trailed towards her again.
"Ne, what is it?"
"I have an appointment to get to before the diner closes today, I was wondering if you would be kind as to close the shop for me again."
"I don't see why not." I answered without thinking.
She smiled.
"I knew you wouldn't say no."
As I thought about it some more, my eyes suddenly widened.
As my boss was just turning around to go back into her office, I placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to face me and had a rather surprised look on her face.
"I needed to tell my girlfriend something later today, and... it's really important to me."
"But Jungkook... you're the only one that has the spare key to this place." she said sympathetically.
I looked at her desperately.
"I'm sorry Jungkook, I'll make sure to pay you back, ne?"
I removed my hand from her shoulder and took my stand with my head low.
"Arraseo..." I said softly.
"Now you might wanna flip those hamburgers... one side might be getting a lot of attention now."
I rapidly turned to my stove, and saw that the meat was starting to overcook, I ran towards the stove and flipped all of them over. I sighed out as I heard laughter coming from the distance.
I turned and saw my boss walking down the hall to her office.
Ugh...
------------------------------
I finished washing the last plate of the evening and wiped my hands off with a drying cloth.
I sigh out in relief now that everything's finished.
The regular drill.
Go to locker.
Get hoodie.
Grab phone and keys.
Turn off lights.
Inspect everything.
Twice.
Close the door.
And finally lock it.
The cool sea breeze whipped across my face as I turned to head down the street.
It was quite the evening if I do say so myself.
The sun wasn't out, but the beautiful white orb dangling from the cool and darkened sky did the job of iluminating my path towards home quite well.
It was so peaceful on my way back.
I passed by houses, neighborhoods, hills, trees...
A whole lot of stuff.
I finally made it to the familiar building.
My apartment complex.
I went in, climbed the stairs to the second floor and went to my door. I dug for the keys in my pockets and opened the door.
My expression changed.
Huh?
It's... open?
I opened the unlocked door and found that the lights were off.
I stepped in and closed the door behind me.
"Hello?"
I took a few more steps and turned on the lights. Since I didn't hear any response or any indication of movement for that matter I came to the conclusion that it was probably my stupid self that forgot to lock the door before I left for work this morning.
You pabo...
I walked into the living room only to see a figure sitting on the couch quietly.
My eyes widened.
"E- Eunri?!"
She didn't look fazed at all. In fact, she even stood up from her spot on the couch and turned to face me.
Uh oh, something's wrong...
"Jagi? What's wrong?"
She kept a straight face as she made her way towards me.
As she was walking towards me I could see a mixture of emotions within her expression. In fact, it was so many emotions I couldn't really pinpoint on one.
But one thing that I know for sure is that she was mad.
It was written all over her face.
"What's wrong?!" she repeated.
I pressed my lips together.
"What's wrong is that YOU wanted to talk to me after work and even said that you had the afternoon off!"
"Eunri... I can explain-"
"Explain what?! The fact that you didn't tell your JAGIYA that you had to stay and close the diner?! Jungkook, a simple 'Hey, I'll be a little late today so just wait for me' couldn't have been said?"
I stayed quiet.
I'll let her get all her frustration out.
I can't talk to her like this.
"Heck, I was so worried that I even waited for hours at the bench across the diner!! Do you know how frustrating it was that every person I saw coming out of there wasn't you? Eventually I gave up and thought you went home and forgot about what you needed to talk to me about."
She paused again to recollect her thoughts.
"But then, you weren't here either. So much for wanting to have an 'important talk'..." she concluded as she bent her head down to shield her face from my gaze.
Okay... I need to put an end to this.
I walked up to her.
Grabbed her hand which caused her to look up at me.
I gave her a small smile.
I took my other hand, placed it on her waist, and pulled her into a hug.
To my surprise, she hugged back.
"Jagi... it's not what you think. You know how much I enjoy being with you. Boss had an appointment to get to and she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer." I said as softly as I could before releasing our warm embrace.
I gripped her shoulders and looked down into her eyes.
Hers were looking up at mine as well.
"It's true that I should've let you know about me getting out late today, but I guess I forgot to tell you in the first place..."
I averted my gaze.
"I'm sorry."
I paused and gripped tighter.
I frowned.
"You never act like this. More or less, I think I've never seen you raise your voice like you did just now. Is everything ok? Yesterday during the game you were kind of emotional too."
She sighed out as she gripped my hands on her shoulders and started carressing them.
"I honestly don't know what's wrong with me. I'm sorry for lashing out on you like that. I guess I'm just stressed out from work and stuff..."
"I'll make sure to tell you next time, I promise." I declared as I put one hand up as if I was making an oath.
She giggled.
"Pabo... what matters is that you are here now. Arraseo?"
"Ne. I'll talk to you tomorrow morning, ok? For now, let me give you a fine massage in order to relieve some of that stress huh?" I proposed convincingly.
She looked into my eyes and I did the same to hers.
And for the first time today,
She smiled.
-------------------------------
···The Next Day···
I woke up pretty early today... that's a first.
Eunri is going to be coming over any minute now so I better prepare everything in order to deliver the news to her.
Oh! I know! I should make breakfast.
I smiled at my brilliant idea and went over to the kitchen and started working my magic.
As I was placing the last plate onto the table my door suddenly clicked and opened just a tad bit in order for the small figure to make her entrance.
As soon as she saw me her eyes widened.
She closed the door and smiled at me.
"Wow... must be pretty important if it got you to wake up so early. And you made breakfast?! Usually I do all the cooking in the morning."
I chuckled.
"Ehh... see? What a wonderful boyfriend you have here miss, why, I don't see another man quite like him." I stated smugly while raising an eyebrow cockily towards her.
In return she raised one of hers as well.
"Mmhmm..."
She crossed her arms and walked towards me.
"I am certainly very lucky to have a boyfriend like you Jungkook."
I raised my head in confidence.
I knew she thought that way of me.
"Except when you tease me everywhere we go! I mean seriously, have some decency during work hours you pabo!"
Dang... so much for that confidence boost.
As she saw the change of my expression she started chuckling.
"Anyways, what is it that you needed to talk to me about?"
My eyes widened.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot! Here, come and sit down. Get comfortable." I said as I grabbed her hand and led her to her seat with her already served plate.
After I pushed her chair in I went and sat on mine and began to eat.
"Mmm, delicious." she hummed out.
I smiled.
"Like always."
"Don't get too cocky."
I chuckled.
"Jagi?"
She turned to look at me.
"Hm?"
"How do you feel about traveling?"
She placed her fork down and began to think.
"I mean, I'd love to see new places and all, but... I'll surely miss the sunrise every morning here at home. If anything, I would like to travel within a short period of time. That way I can enjoy it to the fullest without having the feeling of wanting to go back home."
I smiled. I knew she was going to say that.
Honestly, she made things way too easy for me.
I dug my hand into my pocket and took out a small envelope.
Her eyes followed the suspicious envelope as I handed it to her.
She took it while having a confused look on her face.
She held it with both hands as she looked at me expectantly.
I smiled and nodded as if granting her permission to see its contents.
She dug her fingers into the envelope and removed two smaller papers from inside it. She then looked up at me.
"Train tickets? Are we going somewhere? What is this?"
I smiled warmly and grabbed her hand, which made us look into each other's eyes.
"I'm taking you to Seoul..."
I prepared myself for this reaction. I even imagined every possible way that she could've reacted... but it wasn't enough.
Her reactions are one of a kind.
She covered her mouth with both hands. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers and she even stumbled a bit after she stood up in shock.
I stood up as well and eyed her face.
She suddenly removed her hands off her face and wrapped them around my neck for a tight hug. Of course, I hugged back.
"You remembered..." she softly whispered.
I interlocked my hand in between her wavy hair.
"Of course I did. What do you take me for? Isn't it a boyfriend's duty to fulfill any desire his jagiya wants?"
With that, I swear I could feel her breath hitch for a moment.
Then... more squeezing.
And ever so softly.
Ever so lightly did she whisper the two words that made me swoon for her even more if that was even possible.
The words were barely deciphered, in fact barely even audible.
But I heard them all right.
And it made my day.
The simple words of, 'Thank You'.
----------------------------------
We stepped out of the car and grabbed our backpacks from the trunk.
A hand landed on my shoulder.
I turned my head to see that it was Mr. Lee.
They brought us to the train station.
They wouldn't let us walk here.
"See? It's way more faster by car." he proclaimed.
I personally think it was so they can see us off.
I turn back around and see Eunri hugging her mom goodbye.
I suddenly hear the man's voice from behind me.
"Take care of her alright? Make sure nothing bad happens to the both of you."
I smiled at him.
"I promise." I said as I hugged him.
"Oh for crying out loud appa, we're only going to be gone for three days... geez."
He chuckled as he released from our hug.
I was approached by Eunri giving her dad a 'really?' look.
"Okay, okay. You guys have fun alright? Make sure to call us if anything happens." he stated to the both of us as he wrapped an arm around his wife.
I took hold of my backpack and smiled at his statement while Eunri rolled her eyes.
"Come on dad, we're adults now. We got this." she rebutted back.
We both made our way through the crowd of people and stood near the tracks cause our train was on its way.
Suddenly we heard a female voice yell at us,
"Even if you are adults you are still our kids!!"
Me and Eunri looked at each other with a surprised look on our face and seconds later we just laughed.
Oh Mrs. Lee...
As we turned to look back towards the tracks we saw that the train was here.
We took hold of our belongings, went inside, took our seats, and waved to Eunri's parents through the window. They smiled and waved back.
Goodbye Busan, hello Seoul~
-----------------------------------
Our train departed about twenty minutes ago.
We still have a long way to go to reach Seoul.
Our tickets have already been collected and now me and Eunri were just sitting on opposite sides of the booths looking at each other.
"I still can't believe it... I'm going to Seoul!!! The big city! Wah~ this is so exciting!"
I smiled as she was expressing herself and chuckled when she jumped a little bit as well.
She glanced at the window, at me, and all around the train multiple times. She was taking everything in.
I swear... she looked like a little kid.
"How did you even afford this? Yah! Did you spend a lot of money?! I told you multiple times to not spend much on-"
"I didn't spend a lot. I got in contact with Hoseok- hyung, and since he recently moved there... well, I took the opportunity to get a discount on some things. Besides, no matter what the price was, I was still going to take you there."
She smiled widely.
Wahhhh~
I've seen this smile a million times now... but it never gets old.
Every one is special.
Especially the fact that lately...
These smiles are geared towards me.
------------------------------
···Ten hours later···
We finally made it... FINALLY!
We spent the whole night and morning on this train!
It is almost the afternoon here and I have a drooling Eunri on my shoulders.
Plus, I have to use the restroom...
I guess I deserved this.
As soon as I saw Eunri leaning towards one side and start to fall I immediately sat next to her and placed her head on my shoulder.
Argh... my shoulder's killing me right now though.
I turned my head to face the sleeping girl next to me.
Her long lashes stood out from her cute face. Her wavy hair framed her face perfectly even when she was sleeping. Her mouth was slightly open, letting out the soft exhales of her peaceful slumber.
Eh... I can handle the pain.
It's worth it.
'Attention all train passengers, in approximately five minutes we will be arriving at Seoul. Please have all your belongings with you and find the closest exit to you to avoid any accidents. Once again, thank you for traveling with us.'
I smiled as I took a look out the window.
You could see the tall buildings from here!
I quickly turned towards Eunri.
I nudged her with my free arm.
"Eunri, jagi... wake up, we're here."
She stirred and began to flutter her eyes open.
As soon as she took a small glance at her surroundings her eyes widened almost immediately.
She jumped out of her position releasing the weight of my sleepy right arm, and literally pressed her face on the window like a little kid would.
I stood up and grabbed all of our belongings from the carry-on compartment.
I heard her gasp which made me turn my attention towards her.
"SEOUL! WE'RE ACTUALLY HERE..."
I smiled at her.
She turned around to look at me and smiled warmly.
"We're actually here."
----------------------------------
"Eunri, would you please stop taking pictures of every dog you see?"
She was walking in front of me while I carried both of our backpacks.
She had her camera in both hands and was absolutely adorable in the way she took everything in. She turned from left to right and even did a whole 360 to not miss anything and snap a few photos while she walked.
On one of her turns she competely faced me and gave me a wide eyed smile.
"How can I not?! There are not this many dogs back in Busan!"
That wide eyed smile...
It gets me every time.
You're sneaky Lee Eunri.
I chuckled.
"You're right, but don't take too many, there's still a bunch of places I want us to see."
I saw her nod her head with a cheeky smile, take a picture of the cute dog in front of her, and then skip over to my side where she put her camera back in her bag and took it off my shoulder.
I looked at her questionably, as if she was sure that she could handle carrying the weight on her back all day.
She reassured me with another smile and intertwined my hand with hers.
"Come on, let's go and enjoy ourselves shall we?"
My face brightened and the next thing I knew, I was the one pulling her with me.
--------------------------------
We saw many places!
Restaurants, many beautiful sights, some street performers, some souvenir stores, and many relaxing parks.
Honestly, the day passed by very quickly in my opinion...
I guess I was having so much fun.
We were entering the last store for today.
It seemed like a regular tourist gift shop, you know with all the nice trinkets and nifty souvenirs you would get for relatives at a cheap price.
My eyes drifted off to a shelf labeled under discount while Eunri walked passed me.
I turned to look at her when I faintly saw a smudge on Eunri's jeans as she turned a corner to go into an aisle.
It couldn't be.
Nah... I don't think so.
But wait... what if it is?
My eyes began to search for her frantically, when I finally saw her just calmly walking down the aisle I pounced on her and almost tackled her to the ground.
She rapidly focused her attention on me now that she almost fell to the ground.
"Jungkook?! What happened?!" she said shockingly.
I pressed my lips together and released from our hold against eachother and sent her an apologetic smile.
"Nothing... it's just that you walked too far away from me that's all."
"Aish..." she said as she rolled her eyes and continued to look down the aisle for anything interesting.
I took the opportunity now that I was close to her to reassure myself of what I saw.
Oh my gosh... what is that?!
Her butt is red!!!
RED?!
My eyes widened as I quickly took off my flannel, grabbed her arm, and pushed her into a nearby wall.
"Jungkook, again?! What is wrong with-"
I wrapped the flannel around her waist, making sure it was covering her butt and grabbed her shoulders to make her look at me.
"You're leaking." I whispered.
The words barely made it out of my mouth and I could see all color fade away from her face. She looked ashamed, apologetic, and disappointed in herself.
I couldn't bear to see her like this.
I quickly took her to where the bathrooms were and pushed her through the girls door.
I stayed outside waiting for her to change and clean herself up.
I walked up to the door.
"Don't worry about getting my flannel dirty okay? Just clean yourself up and we'll go to the hotel, it's late anyways." I said through the crack of the door so she could hear me.
I heard her hum in approval so I went back to my original spot to wait for her.
I sighed out.
"Just don't ever make that face again..." I whispered to myself.
---------------------------------
We were exhausted... and by exhausted I mean Eunri couldn't even keep her own two feet on the ground but still insisted that she could at least make it our hotel.
And we did... surprisingly.
We started unpacking our belongings when she insisted that I take a shower first. In return she had to sleep on the bed for the whole trip while I took the couch.
To be honest, there was no way I was going to let her sleep uncomfortably on that couch especially when she's on her period.
It must be painful, right?
Ah, who am I kidding...
I don't know how that feels like.
I took a quick shower, got dressed into a white T-Shirt and black sweatpants, made my way to the couch, and started to grab some pillows and blankets to make it look like a bed.
After a few minutes I heard the bathroom door close.
I turned around to see that Eunri wasn't there anymore.
Now that I think about it, ever since the incident happened she hasn't spoken to me at all.
It's nothing to be ashamed of, it's normal to go through this.
I continued arranging my 'bed' until I heard a thump coming from the bathroom followed by some sobs.
I immediately ran to the bathrrom door.
"Eunri? Are you okay?" I said worriedly.
I heard no response.
"I'm coming in."
I twisted the knob and pulled it open only to find that it was unlocked.
But none of that mattered because as soon as I opened that door I was faced with the most horrible sight I could've ever seen.
She was on the floor, knees up to her chest, and her hands holding the flannel I let her borrow.
What broke my heart were the tears falling down her face.
I instantly bent down to her level and eyed her.
She looked weak...
No color at all.
"Jagi?" I said softly as I placed a hand on her shoulder.
She quickly looked up at me.
No...
Her eyes... they held so much pain.
They were streaming down tears and tears.
She was holding back her own sobs.
She looked miserable.
It made me want to cry as well.
As if I could feel her pain.
"It wouldn't wash out..." she said lifting the wet flannel towards me.
Her voice was even scratchy.
"Yah! Give me that! You think I care about this? I can just go and buy another one!"
I said as I took the flannel from her hands and threw it somewhere behind us.
"What's wrong Eunri? Talk to me."
She sobbed some more.
So much that she covered her eyes with her hands in an attmept to wipe all of her tears off.
"I- I'm sorry..."
My eyes widened.
"I'm sorry that I'm so mean... I'm sorry for not defending our team in the game... I'm sorry for lashing out on you lately..."
I stared at her incredulously.
"And I'm sorry that you have to see me like this, but it... it really hurts."
"Pabo! If it hurts so much, why didn't you tell me about it sooner?! What's with all these apologies? There's nothing to apologize for, that's all in the past, what's more important is that you stop crying..."
She sobbed even more.
My eyes squinted in seeing her suffer so much in front of me.
I couldn't take it...
I pulled her forcibly into a hug and I started to carress her back with one hand and stroke her hair with the other.
I sighed out frustratingly.
"Depend on me for things like these. You don't know how much it hurts me to see you like this. Just... just rely on me once in a while. I'll protect you."
I heard her sobs turn into whimpers.
She was calming down.
I continued to stroke her back and hair in a relaxing way in order to release her of some of her pain.
She looked so weak.
So pale.
In horrible pain.
With no sign of that heart warming smile of hers appearing.
It was the first time I saw her in tears.
The first time I've seen her so helpless.
It honestly killed me to even look at her just now.
I look at the hand that keeps carressing her hair.
This incident just made me realize how much she actually needs someone to be there for her.
And I will be honoured to take that spot.
She's way too important for me.
I will be sure to protect her.
To always be by her side.
And to cherish her.
I am never letting her go.
~