"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Jimin asks through the phone. Sighing, I rub my forehead in frustration. "You're not allowed to, Jimin-ah."
"Look, how about you file a l-"
"Jimin, I already told you. It'll be easy for him to get out of it, he's super rich."
"Aish! But you can't just go there like that! What if he ra-"
"Yah!" I shout as I pull the door open and exit the apartment. Jimin is a great friend, I'll have to admit. But the con is that, he can be really annoying.
"Don't jinx it, pabo!"
"Alright alright! Call me immediately if anything happens. Don't hesitate, got it?"
"Ye ye, I'll be off now, eomma. Don't call me when I'm at work. Bye!" Before he can say anything else, I quickly hang up and sigh in relieve.
Tae's not that big of a jerk, right?
-
"Why am I not surprised..." I mumble to myself as I gawk at the mansion before me.
Yes, mansion.
After his driver drops me off, a male servant appears out of nowhere and leads me over to the man's office. He's obviously careful as he knocks on the door, as if measuring the suitable force to put on the wooden material. A familiar deep voice comes from the inside,
"Come in." And then the door is opened.
"Sir, I brought Miss Kim."
"Good, you may leave." After bowing, the servant leaves the room; leaving me and Taehyung who's reading a book on his armchair.
"You're not late this time, hm?" He raises one of his eyebrows as he asks, eyes still on the book.
"Yeah. Seems like it."
"That's good. I like improvements. Honestly, I'd like for you to clean my house but as you can see, the other maids here had already kept it pretty clean. So, since I'm not-" His words are interrupted by his own fits of coughing, which I'd say is quite violent since his face became red almost instantly.
"As I was saying, *coughs* *clears throat* I'm not feeling very well. So all you need to do is stay by my side, and do what I tell you to do. Got it?"
Swell. Today's gonna be a long day.
"First of all, go make me food. I'm hungry."
-
"That jerk." I mumble to myself as I cook. I'm supposed to be wrapped up in my blanket, watching my dramas at home but here I am instead, being a freaking cook.
What did I even do to deserve this?!
"Aish!" I turn and grab onto the bottle of salt at the side and open it's lid, about to pour the whole thing into the pan of food--- until I see a maid giving me a suspicious look from the corner of my eye.
Darn it.
Clearing my throat, I slowly put down the bottle and try to act like I didn't just try to kill the amazingly annoying CEO of the biggest company in Korea. After I'm finished with the kitchen, I make my way over to his study again while trying my best not to spit in his food.
Hold it, Hyunnie. Hold it. You wouldn't want your DNA in him.
I stand outside the room, about to knock when the man's violent coughings once again interrupted me. I instinctively wince a little at it. You can tell how much it must've hurt just by the sound.
Okay, now I feel a little bad for him. Just a little.
Sighing, I gently push the door open and make my way in, no longer bothering to knock. He looks up at me when I put the bowl down on his desk with a look of sympathy.
"Yah.. If you're that sick, you should rest, you know?"
"...Yah..?" He raises his brows, slightly taken back by my sudden dropping of honorifics. But he quickly replaces his confused expression with an amused one.
"Being feisty, I see? I like that." I can't help but roll my eyes at him with a huff.
"Wait, did you just roll your eyes on me-"
"Kim Taehyung. I'm being serious right now. If you don't, I'm leaving the house."
"Alright! Alright! Fine!" He exclaims with a throw of his hands up, making it clear that he's annoyed. He stares as I reach out and close away the book he was reading -which I found out was about investments- and push the bowl to him.
He looks down at the bowl of food, and I'm fully prepared for his complains. For him kick me back into the kitchen and make him something else. But instead-----he smiled. Not his usual cocky smirk or annoying smug smile.
It's the genuine smile that had never failed to melt my heart. The beginning of our long-gone friendship. The one he always had on every time he talks to me.. until everything changed and it became exclusively reserved for Chae-eun.
"Japchae.." He mumbles, clear enough for me to hear. And then it hits me.
Japchae was always his favorite.
"I didn't- I didn't make it knowing that it's your favorite."
"But I never said it's my favorite..?" He says, the smile on his face transforming into a smirk.
Damn it.
"Just shut up and eat, will you?" I sigh, and he chuckles, eyes squished into little crescents as he does so. I stood and watched as he duck into his food while trying to hide the small smile on his face.
"Hyunnie, I'm hungry!" Taehyung whines as he slumps down against Hyunji's home sofa. The girl can't help but smile a little at her best friend's child-like side.
"Yah.. My house is not a restaurant, you know?"
"I know! But please~ If you don't feed me, I'll die right here on this sofa. And I'll make sure that I decompos-"
"Okay! Okay! I get it! Don't die yet." Hyunji laughs and makes her way to her kitchen while Taehyung follows with silent cheerings behind her.
"I guess I'll just make some ramyeon-"
"Yah, no. Ramyeons aren't good for your health." Taehyung comments with a fake frown, which later turns into a charming smile,
"Can you make us Japchae please..?"
"Japchae..?"
"Yeah! Japchae! My all time favorite!" He cheers, making Hyunji laugh as she nods. "Alright, Japchae it is!"
He stands and watches as she prepares the food, and though she doesn't show it, the way Taehyung's eyes follow her movements are making her nervous. She had to force herself to forget Taehyung's existence to calm herself down.
Hell. What is this boy doing to her?
After a good nerve wrecking 20 minutes, she finally managed to finish up and have Taehyung carry the plates to the dining table. The box-like smile wouldn't leave his face as he stares down at the plate of noodles.
"Wah.. You're better than I thought you are.."
"You haven't even tasted it yet, Tae." Hyunji chuckles, gesturing for the boy to eat.
"Thanks for the meal!" He pipes and wastes no time to dig in. His eyes sparkle as he chews, making the smile on Hyunji's face grow wider when he puts out multiple thumbs-ups.
"Wah Daebak!" And he continues devouring the food, without noticing the way Hyunji stared at him.
Ugh. Just, why?
I've grown so used to making Japchae for him that, I didn't even stop to think about what to cook. As he eats silently, I have my eyes everywhere but on him.
Yes, I'm embarrassed. He probably thinks that I'm making this on purpose because I know it's his favorite dish. I really want to just speak up and tell him that that wasn't the case, but I somehow have a feeling that I might embarrass myself more than I already did.
My eyes automatically move to meet his when he sighs, and I immediately curse at myself for it. There's this soft look on his face as he says, "Thank you, Hyunji-yah." before he stands up and leaves to god knows where.
Immediately after he closes the door, my legs feel weak and I had to lean against his desk for support. It was only then when I realize just how fast my heart's beating.
What are you doing to me now, Kim Taehyung?