Shin-Ae looked at him with big eyes. No way she would figure out how these brothers interacted. His broken smile reveals a glimpse of how hurt he was. Even with her current loss and horrible situation, Shin-Ae couldn't help but notice. And later on, she would need to find out the deal with Kousuke and him. Everything was just draining her. For now, she just wanted a break. "Yeong-Gi... Thank you for being here then. Really", she mumbled. Most probably, he'd dodge her questions now, so she didn't ask.
"Anytime. We're friends, right?"
This time, he wasn't able to crack out a smile from her. And yes, he could relate. But it bothered him so much, it broke him so much after not seeing her for so long that he wished for her not to show any interest towards him. Even though at this point Shin-Ae was pretty messed up, he sensed that sometimes, she would do some things that sent him weird signals. His egoistic side wished for them to be true, but in all honesty, they could not happen. And he hoped for her sake that they wouldn't happen. He would only be a burden to her.
Silently, Shin-Ae eyes closed as she leaned against the car chair. And to be honest, Yeong-GI needed the silence as well. They both were a bit worn out, him driving was a relaxing thing so that he could focus on the things he would do.
Suddenly he jolted on the fact that he forgot the most important thing there was: calling Nana about it. "Crap. Uh, Shin-Ae? I'm calling my Nana now... She still doesn't know I offered you to stay for a while. Don't worry though, I'm sure-", he explained, but stopped mid-sentence when he realized that he heard or saw no movement, he shot a glance in her direction.
Looking so beautiful and worn down at a time, she slept in his car seat. How could this be possible? Last time she slept, she was actually snoring shortly after passing out. Maybe this sleep was different. At least it wouldn't surprise him if she didn't sleep as well. With a sigh, he reached for his phone and dialed Nana's number, casually driving with one hand on the stirring wheel.
"Hey, Tiger. What's up?"
"Hey, Nana. Remember the girl I was talking about sometimes? Shin-Ae? She is in some trouble now and I offered her to stay at ours. Is it okay if she uses the guestroom?"
"Sure. Go ahead. Does she want to drink or anything? I'm going for grocery shopping soon, do you want anything?"
For a short moment, Yeong-Gi glanced at her again. Still deeply asleep. "Well, maybe I'll just do the potato dish, I think she's gonna like it", he responds, looking forward again. Usually, he would smile while doing his dish. Not this time though. He needs to take off his mind and give Shin-Ae some space. By cooking, maybe he'd be able to leave her alone.
"Okay, see you later, Tiger." "Bye Nana."
Damn, he was lucky to have this wonderful woman in his life. He didn't even know where he would be without Nana, facing all this ugly family stuff.
Trying not to wake Shin-Ae up, he parked the car and stepped out of it, while taking Shin-Ae's bag. Now comes the tough part – despite the closeness from before, Nol still felt the intense restraint. He shouldn't always seek to touch her. Maybe she wasn't comfortable with them touching and what he did was something she only accepted for the sake of... something else? But she was okay with him holding her wrist. Here goes nothing, he thought to himself.
So, after this short moment of hesitance, he rounded the car and opened her door side.
"Shin-Ae. Wake up", he murmured towards her. Nothing.
"Ey, Shin-Ae, I've eaten all your fried chicken, sorry for that", Yeong-Gi tried again, having a faint smile on his face. Food always worked, didn't it? He still couldn't get over the fact how all worked up this woman got over anything edible. "No... That... My chicken...", he heard her muffle into the seat. So bloody adorable. Even at times like this, she could almost trigger a smile out of him.
Yet there was this little problem that Shin-Ae wouldn't wake up. And in retrospect, this was probably better for her sake. But now he probably had to get her into her room, cause c'mon – he couldn't her sleep in the car. And she was most likely pretty much a lightweight.
But would she be okay with him carrying her? Seriously, he didn't know, and he wished he could ask her for consent. Honestly, he really felt awkward.
Besides, Nol couldn't guarantee that he would be able to touch someone this intimately again – the hug already was a lot for him to handle. After all, he couldn't bear being reminded to old times, let alone touching his face or neck. What if she subconsciously kind of touched him there? But then, Yeong-Gi remembered that during the formal, he made it through the moment when Yui touched him there. And this was not Yui. This was Shin-Ae, his very lovely, genuine, funny and trustworthy friend he most probably had a crush on. And who needed his help.
Just keep your hands at the knees and shoulders, don't stress about it, right? Nope. He couldn't do that. Guess he would just wait in the car and hopefully have her wake- "Yeong-Gi?" Well, nevermind.
"Ah, you woke up! Well, we just arrived at my place. I got your stuff", he showed her the bad on his shoulder, "so let's head in. You might get cold." Waiting to get out of the car, Yeong-GI immediately closed and locked it.
"To be honest, I'm kind of surprised", Shin-Ae mumbled, her voice raspier than usual. She had no clue how beautiful she sounded or was in general, even at this state she was in.
Yeong-Gi, nuh-uh. Gotta have a better reputation, you're not your dad either. And she needs a good friend. You didn't even deserve her in any way, and she'd be better without you.
"Really? Why?", he asked her with a quiet smile, turning around towards her. She shortly returned the stare, then headed towards the front door. "Your car...It's so weird. I don't know...", she uttered unsurely, but Yeong-Gi smiled by it from the first time.
"Don't worry, I get that a lot. It's not as unusual as you think", he said, smiling at her. Maybe he was imagining it, but did he see her smile for a second? "You know, this car's pretty old. Actually, we've been lucky that this car didn't break down during the ride", he pretended thoughtfully, listing ridiculous stuff that might have been broken about the car. Every time he did that it worked, and the reactions were great. Just like Shin-Ae's stunned and lightly angered face. "I kid", Yeong-Gi added, grinning now, when he finally opened the door and entered. After seeing the entrance of the apartment, Yeong-Gi shortly introduced her to everything, but the slim woman barely followed what he said. In fact, she looked very tired. "Hey, Shin-Ae, how about you get some sleep? I think it's actually good for you right now to just give yourself some time and then figure everything out", Yeong-Gi proposed to her, worry in his face.
She really didn't look good – well she did, but she always did, it was just about her state of health – and her tiredness just proved everything. "Oh really? I don't really feel so tired right now", she lied nervously. Yeong-Gi understood her. He knew how it was to go to bed, only to fear what his unconscious was going to reveal. He knew how to fear sleep.
"Okay. But maybe it helps to relax a bit. How about Webflix? There's most probably several good shows going on. Or WouTube."
Yes, he was aware that he was being a bit pushy now – something that Shin-Ae used to dislike – but he was only trying to help her and he knew that she grew accustomed to it. She already had a breakdown today, and he wouldn't want to stop being a good friend for any ridiculous reason. "I guess...", she said, looking outside the window.
"Okay, I'm going to put the TV on right after placing your stuff in the guestroom, okay? Be right back", Yeong-Gi quickly added while hurrying to the said room. Suddenly, he released a breath he didn't know he was holding, and let the weight of the situation sink in.
What was going to happen to Shin-Ae? She didn't have any family to turn to and her close friends may not be too reliable. Thinking about it, she lost her last family at the same time and being homeless and an orphan, if Yeong-Gi could call it like that, had to be really, really awful.
Of course, he remembered when she told him that she was used to misfortunes at the donut shop. But this wasn't something anybody should ever be used to, not even mentioning experience. Hopefully, he would be able to help her. When he returned to the living room, he already noticed Shin-Ae shaking before even getting close to her. "Yeong-Gi?" Her voice was shaking as well. "Yes?", he asked back, trying to act like it was nothing. But who was he going to fool with that? Himself?
"I don't want to be alone right now. Would you like to keep me company for the day?"
In another situation, this would have surprised him. But this time, he could only nod and turn on the TV. "Should I call someone to come over, too? Maybe Soushi and Dieter?", he asked out of concern, not wanting to make Shin-Ae uncomfortable. She shook her head: "It's fine, they do not have to see me like... You know... This." Gesturing at herself, she attempted to make a funny face, and Yeong-Gi had to crack a smile. "Understandable."
After a short while of browsing through every movie, he thought he found the one. "Hey, how about this one? Maybe it'll cheer you up." Her genuine, tired smile made his heart melt. "Detestable Me 3, huh? Well, it hasn't been my jam. I'm more into Batwoman and stuff like that. But if you want to..." "Oh no, it's fine. I'm sure they have Batwoman here. I've also heard that the black cheetah would be nice."
He felt like he said something wrong because then, Shin-Ae looked at him in a triggered and an are-you-serious? look. "Okay, listen here, buddy. You don't have to lie if you don't like DZ or Marvellous movies, but Batwoman and black cheetah are two different things. What have you watched until now?" Uh-oh. She was a real fan. At least he knew for the next time. Wait.
Next time?
"Uh, I don't really remember, I think it was the Awengers?" "Which one?" "There were more than one?" Shocked, Shin-Ae stared dumbfounded at him. "Dude. You have Webflix. You know the Wakanda forever meme. And you didn't watch this stuff? Okay, that's enough. We're watching it." Sighing, Yeong-Gi half-smiled at her. It was good to see her like this. "Kay. I'll order chicken wings", he said while letting Shin-Ae pick the first movie.
Shin-Ae couldn't believe that for several seconds during the conversation, she forgot what happened recently. She knew that her father died a week ago. And she knew that the landlord went easy on her when he gave them time to move out. Also, she knew that she was deep in shit. With her whole situation. Notably, she also felt that Yeong-Gi was. He was always hiding behind smiles, keeping stuff from himself. Of course, she wouldn't force him to tell anything, but neither would she let it slide if she had the chance of knowing. She wanted to help him, as this cinnamon-roll helped her right now.
Sighing, she saw him coming back, and she shortly checked him out. He didn't wear his work attire anymore but changed into grey sweatpants and a plain white shirt. Yes, he had a girlfriend – she needn't remind herself, she was the one pointing it out to him way too harshly – but that doesn't change the fact that he was handsome. And smelled good as hell. How could he smell so good? He didn't even smell like cologne. And his hair looked fluffy.
Seemingly unaware of how Shin-Ae looked at him, Yeong-Gi sat next to her, dropping the blankets he brought between him and her. "Thought I'd get them here. My Nana made them and they're really comfortable", he told her while looking at the TV. It said 'Iron Van'. It kind of looked familiar to him. But he couldn't fail to notice her closeness to him, since she just snuggled into the blankets instead of pulling them towards herself. He actually felt her slight weight through the blanket and tried not to say anything. She didn't even notice.
"Chicken comes in 15 minutes", he quickly added, trying to ease himself. Chicken would calm him down. Chicken wings never disappointed them. "Cool", she just added, starting the movie.
We were silent most of the time. The movie itself seemed pretty cool. Yeong-Gi noticed that Shin-Ae's eyes weren't only on the TV. They constantly drifted somewhere else, as if being deep in thought. When she didn't pay attention to the movie anymore, he took the remote and paused. "What're you thinking about?"
Her unfocused eyes met his, and surprised, she just blinked. Then she sighed: "I just don't know what to do right now. You know, I'm really glad you helped me, and I don't know where I would've been without you. But without my father, it's..." For a moment, he saw her tear up again, but she caught herself, taking a deep breath, "... it's harder to build up a new life. I don't have any family to turn to because my sister and mother live elsewhere. I don't even know if I have to be in an orphanage now. Maybe I'll have to move away from here. Maybe I won't see you guys again."
Suddenly, her head turned away from him, hanging low. Yeong-Gi knew that he wouldn't be able to tell her that she'd be staying. He couldn't promise or give her much. He would still die trying though. "You know, we still have each other's numbers in that case. I will force Dieter and Soushi to text you every day. We can also do wace-time if you want to. That's what Alyssa and I used to do before we both got busy", he suggested, looking intensely at her. When her eyes met his, he felt trapped.
Those red eyes wouldn't leave him alone, He couldn't turn away from them. Not that he even wanted to. They were mesmerizing. "Thanks. For everything", she said, her words so genuine, and suddenly, he felt her hugging and leaning onto him. Automatically, he laid back so that he subconsciously put them both into a cuddling position.
He was right, he actually wasn't ready for such a hug. But not in the way he expected – he felt far too comfortable and right next to her. As if there had been something missing all his life.
Maybe he should hug people more.
Wtf are you actually thinking.
He managed to let out an "Anytime", and then, they both fell into a silence. That silence was one of the most peaceful ones he ever had – tranquillity, comfort and close intimacy to a very dear friend could actually do wonder. By the time, he felt his muscles calm more and more around her, before he completely eased and he just enjoyed her presence. This was so incredibly selfish, yes. But he only did it because she asked him... in a sense. Right? Confused about himself, he stared at the paused movie. She didn't seem to mind it being paused, so he didn't mention it.
Suddenly, he heard the doorbell ring. With a sudden jerk upwards, he let Shin-Ae go and felt more present than ever. Did they just... cuddle? And who was at the door at this poi-
Then he remembered. And felt joked at. Never had he thought that chicken wings would actually disappoint him. Sighing, he went towards the door and took the boxes from the delivery man, paid him hurriedly and went back to the living room, not without wishing the guy a good day. To be honest, this guy looked like he was in a bad mood anyway. At least, that's what he made out of the endlessly long monologue the man was holding.
"Got those chickens ready for my belly!", he said smiling when he placed them in front of Shin-Ae. Though her smile did not have her happy glint in her eyes, she did as well. And that was all Yeong-Gi needed from her.
Well. The cuddling would have been nice tho.
Shut it.
"Finally", she breathed, reaching for the remote, "Now we can watch the movie for real." "You've been waiting for the wings to start the movie again?", Yeong-Gi questioned amused, raising an eyebrow playfully. Her expression was a 'duh' one. "Well, I wouldn't endure watching a whole movie without anything to eat. I am starving at some point!", she dramatically shouted, putting a hand towards her forehead. Her fooling around with him felt awesome, so much Yeong-Gi could tell. Her presence in general did. It was close to spooky how comfortable he immediately felt with her being here.
"Well, that's probably why foods works so well with you", Yeong-Gi grins, provoking her. She tssked and looked away, pouting and crossing her arms like a child. Damn, she looked cute. Also, with the new stuff she was wearing – she must have changed while Yeong-Gi picked up the food at the door – she looked way cuter in a way. He loved the look of her in those clothes without a real reason. Guess that would be how crushing worked.
Screw it, he had to ask.