I was supposed to slightly edit this chapter but I ended up changing the entire content of the chapter smh why am I like this?! Anyways, I hope that y'all like the edited version better.
Enjoy reading!
"Since when did YOU become such a clean freak?", Mina says in a mocking tone while pushing random keys in the vintage typewriter she found in your storage room.
"I am NOT! I just want my house to look presentable", you said in a rather hasty manner rushing about the room dusting specks of dirt."You know it'd be great if you could help me a bit. Can't you abandon that for a little while?"
"And why's that? Anyone special coming over tonight? ", she asks perching her gold-rimmed spectacles on her nose not even sparing a single glance your way as he continues to daze at the antique machine. "And why do you even have this obsolete thing here with you? I mean you were never really interested in writing..."
"But my grandma was. It was her most prized possession, that's why it's here."
" Oh..." There's a brief silence and you can almost see the hesitancy in her eyes as continues to speak," I am sorry Hara. I didn't know that it was your grandmum's." She apologises as she places the typewriter in the mahogany cabinet, she knew how attached you were to your grandmother. She had seen how broken you were when your grandmum died and she had been the only emotional support you had during that time.
"It's fine, Mina. I know you didn't mean to say that." You reassure her when you see her guilt painted visage. Though it had only been a little over three years you both had known each other, it would be safe to say that she certainly had a cardinal impact in your life. You had come to the terms of best friends with the benevolent brunette who always wore gold-rimmed spectacles.
"Right. But why are you cleaning up so thoroughly? Who is this special guest of yours? Wait...did you set up for a date for me?" She squeals in excitement and you can't help but roll your eyes, ignoring the plethora of questions she throws your way as you continue arranging the cushions on your couch. "Are you even listening to me?"
" No."
" What else was I even expecting from you?" You quickly ask her to tell you the time before she could begin to chide you for your lack of engagement in the conversation.
"It's 21:28. And you still didn't answer my question." You're too busy igniting the vanilla-scented candle to even hear what she says but your ears are perked up as soon as she announces the time. You rush about the room looking if everything looks perfect and it almost astounds you how you've managed to make your place look presentable in the limited time.
"Don't tell me it's Joo Hyuk. That guy irks me to no end." She exasperates expressing her disapproval as she sits down on the subtle peach coloured armchair that you admired oh so much.
"But I lo-" You're cut off by the brunette as she completes the statement for you.
"You love him. I know that and that is the only reason why I haven't scared him off yet." She laughs looking your way, " I just don't want you to end up getting hurt because of him. I mean just keep an eye on him....I just—"
" Yeah I know the drill, Mina. You're just worried and I also know that you're gonna beat his ass if he tries to hurt me." You smile when your eyes meet her chocolate brown orbs. " But I am happy and that's what matters right?"
"Yeah."
" Anyways, you remember Junghyun right?"
"Yeah. How can I forget him? You two were attached to the hip during college years. Is he the one for whom you're cleaning so diligently?"
"No it's his brother, Jeongguk. He's coming here from Busan to study in the Hanlim University and apparently the housing fees for the dorms is pretty high. So that's why Junghyun asked me if his brother could live here for some time and I obviously can't deny that considering it's Junghyun's cute little baby brother." You say reminiscing the chubby round cheeks of the said boy.
"Living with a boy all alone doesn't sound quite good. Have you told your boyfie bout him?", she enquires having witnessed just how jealous your boyfriend could get over minute things.
"Oh no! You're getting the wrong idea. I think of Jeongguk as my baby brother and nothing else. And I even kind of adopted him as my baby brother since I had no siblings and I felt kinda lonely sometimes", you answered purposefully ignoring the latter part of her question because you still had to tell Joo hyuk about it.
"So is that the reason you're so excited to meet him?"
"Yeah! I haven't seen him since past 4 years. I bet he still looks like a cute little bunny who wants his head to be petted all the time."
" A bunny? You're just being—," you thank the lords as the doorbell rings saving you from listening to whatever the hell your best friend was going to say.
"Oh! I think he's here", you said while walking hastily towards the door. You open the door only to be greeted by an unfamiliar face. You were shocked to see a raven haired male standing before you. And before you could say anything, you were swept off your feet and the unknown man was hugging you so tight that it was making it hard for you to breathe.
"I missed you so much, Hara!", and that is when you realised that it was Jeongguk. You had never imagined that the cute little boy would transform into the pulchritudinous man standing in front of you. Everything about him seemed perfect, from his chiselled jawline to his now muscular body. And on top of all of that, he was almost 5-6 inches taller than you. He had always been so short that it was hard to register his tall form.
"Jeongguk?", those were the only words you could utter looking at him.
"The one and only. Been a long time since I saw you." You're caught off guard by his husky voice which seems so foreign yet so familiar. Just how much had he changed?
"Y-Yeah! When did you become so handsome?", you regret asking him the nonsensical question as soon as you see him smirking at you. " I- I mean when did you get so tall? I remember you barely reached my shoulder earlier."
" Well, that was 4 years ago. That's a hell lot of time."
Yeah well it sure is. Puberty had sure hit him hard and you found it difficult to not look at his biceps which he seemed to be flexing in front of you unintenti— no fuck you were quite sure he was doing it deliberately.
"Can I come inside?"
"Y-Yeah yeah, sure." Your voice falters a bit as you try to look beneath the veneer that he presents. Is he just putting up an act? Oh fucking hell. It hadn't even been 10 minutes since he came here and you were already at a loss of words. Your mind losing coherence as seconds passed by. " Kookie, you—
"Uhh I think I should get going," your best friend interrupted you and you thank her internally for saving you from the embarrassment.
"Oh and I am Mina by the way", she says as she extends her hand towards the raven haired male standing in the hallway.
"Hi!", he cheerfully replies, shaking her hand. And you are staggered yet again. How come he was able to talk to Mina so comfortably? Did he overcome his fear of talking to women too?
"I'll see you later", she tells you before making her way towards the elevator.
"Uhm well... are you really that surprised?", he says gazing deep into your eyes that has your cheeks burning up.
"No", you're quick to reply as you steer clear from the door allowing him to come inside.
He doesn't falter a bit as he quickly removes his shoes, plopping down on your couch. And though he had had a cheerful expression all the while, you could still make out that he was exhausted. The faint dark circles under his eyes giving you the signal of exhaustion.
"Kookie, you look tired. You should go rest for now. We'll talk later in the morning tomorrow."
"Oh no, it's fine. I want to talk with you. I've finally met you after 4 years. We have a lot to catch up on." He winks at you and you can see the childish glint in his eyes once again except that now you can't seem to laugh it off as you used to earlier. You're sure that your cheeks are painted a vibrant scarlet by now.
" It's Sunday tomorrow so we'll have the whole day to talk. Y-you look like a ghost right now, go get some sleep." You try to avoid making any eye contact with him as you speak not wanting him to see the your cheeks ablaze with fire.
"Is that why you're blushing so hard?"
"W-what?!" You're about to deny the accusation when you hear the familiar giggling. You look up at him to see his eyes bearing the beautiful crescents they always made whenever he smiled. Not much had changed after all. "I was just kidding. Relax, it's only me." He says as he approaches you, the smile still intact on his face, "Where's my room?"
"Umm yeah. I'll show you the way", you say while guiding him towards the guest room which now belonged to him. It's silent as he walks behind you and you're almost enjoying the quietude until you hear his husky voice again. "Okay , honestly how much are you even earning? This house looks quite expensive." he says while looking at the shelf lined with knick-knacks while picking up the ivory elephant miniature embellished with golden hues at it's paws.
"Oh, those aren't expensive at all. In fact , that's my dad's collection. I couldn't resist not bringing it here after I saw it at my parent's house. In fact, the one that you picked up is one of my favourites."
"Didn't know you were into knick-knacks. But I can't blame you, this is so beautifully carved." He says admiring the article held in his hands. "Ahh and how are your parents by the way?", he says while placing the said article on the shelf carefully.
"They're doing great and they've been nagging me to take good care of you ever since they got to know that you'll be living here." He chuckles in response as he places his luggage beside the bed.
"Alright Kookie, I'll see in the morning", you announce as you see him fetch a pair of shorts from his duffel bag. You're about to leave but you stop when you hear him speaking again, " Wait! Who's this?", he asks while picking up a photograph of you and your boyfriend from the shelf beside his bed.
Oh shoot. You had almost forgotten about it. You had kept it there while cleaning the room.
"Uhh that's my boyfriend"
He seems surprised hearing your response. And you don't know if you were being delusional but you could almost see the hint of sadness in his eyes.
"Congrats! How long has it been?", he asks, the frown on his face quickly transforming into a grin.
"It's been 7 months", you reply in a rather uncomfortable tone after seeing his expression change so drastically. "Seems like we have a lot to talk about then. See you tomorrow.", he says while laying down on the bed.
"Yeah. Sleep tight." you acquiesce as you close the door of his room proceeding towards your own with unanswered questions in your mind.
***
A/N: Babyboy!! My heart can't handle this much cuteness😩! And do y'all see the outline of his biceps through his shirt?! Papi😍👅 And this is probably gonna be the only chapter of this book which exceeds 2ooo words lol. I'll avoid writing such lengthy chapters after this.