'What do sick people eat?'
Convenience stores used to be Jinyoung's favorite, a world where he could dive into its goods. The variety of snacks, meals, and instant noodles with diverse flavors was heaven. Usually, he would spend hours, starting with Shin Ramen, and dumplings with zero coke then. a dessert combo of ice cream and strawberry cake. However, He got stuck.
Right from the start, it seemed extremely tiring for someone who had never taken care of anyone other than his closest friend who taught him how to do so after multiple attempts. He was afraid that he would make the same mistakes again and could already see this happening based off of the products he was paying for.
'This is harder than I expected.' The dark-haired boy sighed to himself, carrying the tote bag he stole from his roommate in hand while his brown-leathered laptop bag was over his shoulder as he made his way to his sick partner.
'You did this, so fix it.' He repeated to himself. He walked down the warmly lit hallway that was calmer than his floor until he reached her room at the end. He knocked twice before turning the doorknob gently.
Sunlight, Vangogh posters, plants everywhere. Jisoo's room was breathing, the opposite of his dull dark room. She lay snoozing peacefully, her braids of silk draped across her angelic face. Her small hand rested close to it on the white pillow. A wooden tray with papers with pink highlights, notes, an open calculator, and many colored pens rested next to her on the bed.
He cautiously placed his bags on the orderly bed, creeping closer to her. His arms extended out to reach the wooden tray while he glanced at her stirring from slumber; purring like cats and softly saying his name. This made him startle which wasn't a part of his plan.
"Jinyoung?"
He should have stayed composed rather than recklessly dropping the tray on her injured leg or clumsily stumbling back, knocking over the untouched cold tea on the nightstand in an attempt to steady himself.
"Shit." He was panicking, his shaky hand grabbed the mug that spilled its drink on the nightstand and carpet.
He snatched some white napkins to wipe out the mess he created; her hand collided with his helping. Their eyes met and Jinyoung swore that her calm bare face was angelic enough to dissipate his panic. He expected anger, annoyance, shouts, or punches in the face, not the opposite.
The mind and heart weren't prepared for the warm smile and the worried brown eyes of an angel. Seconds ago, his brain was running from one flashback to another, but all the thoughts suddenly became one: to run his fingers through her hair, fixing the messy bangs.
He expected to see her frown or slap him on the face for not answering her texts or calls for the past two days, but all he got was a silly question.
"What are you doing here, Jinyoung?"
"I'm taking care of you."
"That's my question. Why are you forcing yourself?"
"We have deadlines." It was partially true because simply he wouldn't tell her that he cared or came to fix things or to get rid of his guilt and worry combo.
She rolled her eyes. "If you care about them, you would have replied to my messages. I had to call Prof. Jun and Jihoon to push the deadline."
"They told me when I submitted our work on time," Jinyoung said with a shrug, taking the dirty paper napkin from her hand, and collecting the others to throw in the bin.
"You did what? Are you summoned?" she asked in disbelief. "You should have at least replied that you would. I was worried for nothing."
"About me or deadlines?" He chuckled.
"I hate you. Give me 10 minutes to go." She huffed, her lips turning into a pout.
"You aren't going anywhere, Mark's order." He picked up the paper spread over the sheet and put it back on the lap tray before moving it to the white desk, putting everything in place.
"Mark's?" Her mouth opened wide, not believing that Mark's name came out of his mouth without a hiss.
"Long story. Do you want to freshen up before we start?" He ran his hand through his hair, asking.
"Oh, yes." She let out an awkward cough, removing the bed cover with her healthy arm. He took closer steps toward her, giving out his hand, and bending over to reach her level. "Hold me,"
She looked up uncertainly, her small hand reaching his shoulder. Then his large one found its place around her tiny waist to pull her up. The peril of their closeness was overwhelming, with her body heat radiating to him as he escorted her to the bathroom. She seemed to cast a mesmerizing spell on him, making it difficult for him to focus on anything besides her. A different kind of panic, one that seemed better than the ones that hunted him day and night.
Jinyoung set the golden pan on the heater with enough water to bring it to a boil. He then got Mark's bag and took out two Shin ramen, kimbap, and egg bread; he placed these items on a tray. As soon as he heard the water bubbling, He added the yellowish, uncooked noodles, and the dried vegetables to a pot of boiling water. After stirring for a few minutes, he added the spices and cracked an egg on top before serving.
'I should have cooked four,' He regretted, placing the cooked ramen next to the rest of the meal he prepared.
Jileftt of the bathroom with fresh pajamas, hair still messy with a fresh flourish scent. He rushed to her, guiding her back to the bed. He could feel her long stare at him as he put the food in front of her.
"Breakfast first." He passed her the metallic chopsticks. "Is there something on my face?"
"No. I'm just not used to this side of you." She didn't want to look at him as she nervously tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Jinyoung noticed, stepping closer and using his fingers to fix her bangs before arranging the rest of her hair into a messy-low bun, securing it with a scrunchie he caught earlier.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but consider it a truce until you heal."
"Then we will be back from friends to rivals?"
"To lovers." He corrected with his signature playful smirk and wink. She scoffed, trying to hide her laugh. "A playboy who never changes, but fine a truce."
"Now, Let's eat. I'm starving." Jinyoung said, tearing the plastic wrap around the egg bread.
"It looks delicious, but Jinyoung... You better tell Mark we had beef stew as breakfast or Caesar salad." She commented, taking a piece of kimbap in one bite.
"Of course, How did I miss that his princess must eat healthy food?" He sassed; his chopsticks dived into the ramen.
"I have been having soup and the most tasteless boiled chicken for days, so thank you for this."
When they shared a knowing smile, it was effortless—just like any friends talking over a meal. Contrary to Jinyoung's initial worries, it felt natural and comfortable, not tense or awkward.
Jisoo shouldn't have fallen for the ten-minute peace she had with Jinyoung. Chaos was their core and to her defense, she wasn't the reason, even though her new friend begged to differ.
Every time she breathed or tried to move a muscle; they would end up arguing over nothing. "Your life is exhausting. Shouldn't you sleep or watch a movie?" Jinyoung whined for the seventh time in three hours before letting out his millionth sigh.
"We don't have time for movies or sleep, and I told you don't mind me!" She whined back while looking for a certain book on her mind.
"Watch out, Your phone!" It was a bit late to notice the phone on her lap or catch it before it fell to the ground to crash its screen.
Jinyoung hit his head against the book he was holding, kneeling to get the broken phone. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Mark is a hero and 100% right to be that protective."
Jisoo narrowed her eyes at the dark-haired boy who was checking her phone. "What do you mean?"
"Clumsy. This is enough to answer your question." He placed the phone on the desk before jumping on the empty bed next to hers. It was funny how he let out a muffled scream on the pillow.
"Productive." She corrected as he turned to her. "Both, which is a nightmare. Let me recap the past hours for you: You move every minute, and you almost spelled the hot coffee on the written notes. I saved your laptop from falling five times and your last victim needs a new screen." He explained, counting the reasons with his fingers.
"For the first time, I feel thankful not to have anyone else but Jaebum. I take my words back, no truce." Jinyoung said in a supposedly joking tone, a saying that made her frown instead of laugh.
"What do you mean?" She asked a question that wasn't supposed to ask because Jinyoung didn't reply. Instead, he grabbed the book she was asking for, throwing it at her to catch.
The blue book hit her hand, finding its way into the glass full of water, knocking it down for a loud crash. "Great, we can't end the day without shattered glass."
"I'm sorry," she apologized in a low tone, feeling guilty for tiring him out. He got off the bed, picking up the shattered pieces as Jisoo observed him silently.
"Why only Jaebum? What about Gyeom and Bam? Don't you believe in good friendships?" She regretted asking the pal, who was focused on not leaving any broken pieces behind.
A closer look at Jinyoung's fists showed that they were a bit tight, and this was confirmed by the moment the red-stain glass pieces went into the trash can. He did not wince, looking lost in thoughts, a bit detached, as his blood painted red lines on his fingers.
Jisoo forgot about her sprained ankle, jumping off the bed to him. "Jinyoung, are you okay? I'm sorry." She didn't know what she was apologizing for, but she couldn't think about anything other than that.
She held his injured hands tight, staining her white cast with red. His eyes blinked like his switch was turned back on, looking into her worried eyes with panic. "It's okay, Jinyoung-ah."
Jisoo guided them back to the bed, her lips pressed together to suppress the pain coming from her ankle. They sat down on the soft mattress next to each other.
She left his hands to open the drawer of her nightstand, getting out her first aid box. "Open this box for me."
He quietly complied, snapping the box's lock open. Jisoo's unbroken hand grabbed the tweezers, reaching gently for the boy's hands to remove the glass pieces from the pierced hands.
"It feels like déjà vu, right? I like your soft side better." It felt like a twisted fate how Jisoo ended up again with Jinyoung's hand injured on her lap, asking to be saved from his untold stories.
"I still wonder, though." It came as a whisper out of his mouth as his eyes followed her delicate hand, cleaning his wounds with the antiseptic wipe.
"About what?" she asked, focused on rolling the plasters around his fingers.
"Why do you care?" His fingers clasped hers as they looked up. Jisoo failed to hide her worry, barely holding her emotions, again not like Jinyoung's. He was curious, with troubled emotions begging to scream. His question was one and simple, but also added to his mysterious presence.'
"Why have you taken care of me today?"
"That's temporary."
"Would it be okay to say mine as temporary?"
He opened his mouth and then closed it again. His thick eyebrows made a confused frown. "It makes sense."
"It doesn't. Friends take care of each other, that's what we do. We care, worry, fight, support each other, and make memories. Like you and Jaebum. Gyeom and Bam too... Like us."
"Us?" It was unintentional to repeat it out loud. It was just the last word of whatever she said made the emotions flick from confusion to slight hope to darkness too fast.
"Yes, Aren't we friends?"
"We aren't. People leave you with the pain of the so-called memories or nightmares." His bitter tone was back with his empty-blank eyes she hated.
"Fine, we aren't friends. We are rivals, so keep your enemies closer, and just know I'm here as a stranger who cares." Jisoo held his finger tight, her lips moving upward with her bunny teeth showing.
"Such a nuisance," he said with a light scoff.
"A pretty nuisance who you look after."
Hello🌷✨ Jinji scenes finally 😭🤍🤍
Tell em what you think 🤍 Do you expect their bond to get better or worse over time? Also... Are you ready for the squad movie night and a new character's appearance 👀🤍 ?