"a pervert and a trespasser. i'm not letting you in my bedroom!" eunbi shouts, locking the door tight. moon bin, knowing he could just break in and escape from this panting, tail-wagging, fur shedding creature who keeps jumping on him, chose to knock helplessly on eunbi's door out of respect for her mom (eunbi is not even a person to him, when did he say he values her as a human being?) he won't be paying eunbi's new doorknob! the boy sniffled and pulled the collar of his shirt up to cover his nose "eunbi!-" he sneezed again, unable to talk.
for pete's sake! my fever is going to come back since a literal headache barged into my house without informing me first! eunbi leans against the door, her arms crossed in defiance and her day ruined. how could he visit a girl's house alone? if anyone from their school is her neighbor, she would be getting sorts of rumors now and eunbi wants none of it. in fact, since her reputation is stable again, she can terminate their fictitious contract and 'dump' his ass. ugh, no, even if he did inform me initially i shouldn't give it the time of day. she crinkles her nose with disgust, her previous thinking sounded wrong. "why did mom welcome him inside, tsk" she asked herself rhetorically. the banging won't stop, heavens!
"knock it off, would you?!"
"i am knocking it off!"
ugh, the nerve of him to make a joke at this time! eunbi pounded the door harshly to stop moon bin's knocking and it did. eunbi uncrosses her arms, finding herself quite surprised that he listened to her. well, not the type of listen when she aids him in studying but the type of listen when she speaks up to him. eunbi realized just how close they are at this point, he is one of the few people she can talk back to without worrying if she's disrespectful. aw, she would've appreciated it if he weren't banging on her door on a monday afternoon! eunbi pressed her ear on the door and she heard faint noises of sniffing, she can only hear angkko. did he leave now?
a thud answered eunbi's question almost immediately and the girl automatically pulls the door open, finding moon bin wheezing on the floor. his squinted eyes are watery and he kept pushing angkko away from him, as if he's..
i hope i don't regret this. eunbi picks up angkko, cradling her in her arms and putting the puppy inside a crate. then she accomodates moon bin to her bedroom and notices the mess he made outside when she leaves the door ajar. all these papers.. eunbi collects the papers one by one and decides to just ask him about it after checking his condition. moon bin, on the other hand, searches his bag for antihistamines to relieve sneezing. being involved with this kid is so troubling, he'll break up with her later when he can stop puffing. he felt the mattress sink by eunbi sitting on the end of the bed beside him, quiet and wary of his presence.
"aish, the first thing you do in front of someone who just started feeling better is sneeze. do you have an allergy?" eunbi tried to sound as cool and hostile as possible. tried.
he nodded as he takes a pill and downs the bottle of water he got from his bag. it took awhile for him to get rid of his shortness of breath and they just sat in silence. if it wasn't for yewon, moon bin wouldn't even think of coming here. the girl walked up to him earlier by the school entrance and asked him for a favor, that is to give eunbi notes about the lessons she missed. moon bin argued at first, because couldn't eunbi just catch up when she's already able to go to school? it's not like she missed a lot, it's just one day of absence. yewon insisted and pulled out the boyfriend card, which made moon bin resist stronger. he's not really eunbi's boyfriend, so he has no obligation to her. however, what moon bin did not expect is for yewon to know the truth and guilt him about what he did to her last friday. she made him remember what he wanted to say to eunbi but forgot during the weekend.
"you had good intentions but eunbi doesn't know that, don't you want to come over and apologize? also despite having your differences, she makes the effort to help you with studying"
moon bin sighs and faces eunbi, who avoids meeting gazes with him. eunbi bites her inner cheek, conscience-stricken by her impulsive action. it's right that she didn't let him in straight away but it wasn't right for her to shut the door after he didn't force himself in when she opened it. he even brought yewon's notes to her since the girl had urgent matters to attend to. "i'm sorry." moon bin starts, making eunbi look back at him. his words set her thinking at first and when eunbi realized what he is pertaining to, she cringed and averts his gaze. moon bin looks down, taking that as a sign of rejection. he feels awful.
"i'm sorry, you were turning around and i panicked. i'm not giving you excuses, just saying i had pure intentions but the wrong execution. i'm sorry, eunbi." moon bin said with an apologetic tone, twiddling his thumbs. eunbi saw it and snorted, trying to remove tension between them. "what the hell are you twiddling your thumbs for?" moon bin smiles and looks at her again, he used to hate it but he is glad to see that little rise in the corner of her mouth. "i'm about to apologize, should i twiddle my thumbs too?" eunbi says, trying to keep her cool. are they actually getting along? i don't know how to feel about this, however i don't feel the need to stop.
"apologize for what?" moon bin knew, but he wants to hear it coming from her. he puts his chin above his fist, his anticipation growing. eunbi rolls her eyes and holds back another smile. "for having a dog. happy?" eunbi raises a brow, allowing a faint smile to touch her lips. her answer did not satisfy him, nevertheless, moon bin claps his hands together "it brims my soul with joy" he says sarcastically with a fake large smile on his lips, then they both break into laughter. it was short-lived, but for a moment moon bin didn't mind looking ridiculous and eunbi didn't dislike someone who acted ridiculous.
it was short-lived, but it meant a lot. especially when it's cut off by eunbi's mom smirking playfully at her daughter through the small gap behind her door. "mom!"
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"so sweetie, how was the meal?" eunbi's mom, mrs. hwang, gently blots her lips with a napkin after she takes a bite of the food. eunbi dislikes how her own blood looks at moon bin in an endearing way. she doesn't get it, aren't they both strangers? why is her mom so sweet and welcoming? her mom's change of behavior had her shaking her head. eunbi puts a food in her mouth before she loses her appetite. moon bin, the one who is actually asked the question, swallowed the food first and then politely smiles. "it's very delicious, ma'am" earning a hearty laugh from eunbi's mom.
"you're such a sweetheart, son" mrs. hwang smiles widely and moon bin grins. eunbi, who haven't seen moon bin grin, is too concerned with what her ears just heard. did she hear it correctly? "son?!" eunbi blurts out, wide-eyed. mrs. hwang tilts her head, looking skeptically at eunbi. "hwang eunbi, did i teach you to have no manners?" now she's not sweet when i'm the one she's talking to. eunbi pouts and bows, apologizing. she caught moon bin minding his own business and just quietly eats beside her, ugh, her mom shouldn't have put them together in a table. how could he just ignore her?
"may i ask why you call this.." eunbi gestures to moon bin, disgusted. "..a son?" she can't bring herself to say it but she has to. this cannot happen. eunbi will not allow it.
"may i ask why you're pretending he is not your boyfriend? i know he brings you home safely" mrs. hwang retorts and both of them almost choked on their food. ah damn, she knows? moon bin and eunbi grabbed the same glass of water, suddenly feeling a thirst in their throat. they both glared at each other, competing for the glass. it's cut off again by mrs. hwang's giggle and moon bin gets to drink while eunbi storms off and helps herself in the kitchen. she comes back with a frown on her face, setting the glass down on the table with a thump as she glares at moon bin. moon bin slowly sets his own water down, glaring back at her.
"mom, i think you're mixing things up. we're not an item, we're just.." oh shit, what are we? eunbi bites her tongue, secretly scolding herself for speaking too early. she immediately looks at moon bin for rescue but he looks lost too, unable to identify what they really are. they're not friends! that's for..that's for certain. eunbi 'assures' herself, hesitant. the lack of response made mrs. hwang flash a triumphant smile, she nods before speaking "it's okay, eunbi. you don't have to be shy. moon bin, dear, please always bring eunbi home safely and inform me if you will take her on a date." she winks at him, as if moon bin got the jackpot. if anything, things just got worse.
-
after drilling lessons to moon bin's head and also doing her assignments, eunbi stretches and yawns. she's so worn out, not because of all the thinking she did but because she's stuck with him forever. her mom technically ordered them to go home together, how are they going to split up now? eunbi looks out on the window, the sun is half below the horizon. it's dangerous to go home at night.
she checks on moon bin, who finished his tasks earlier than her and is currently sleeping on her bed. the hell? eunbi supports her arms using the study table and stands up, no one can just sleep on her bed. plus, he might catch her cold. she approaches him and notices moon bin pinning down the grey hoodie - his grey hoodie - on her bed. eunbi freezes and stares at it with wide eyes for a couple of seconds. don't get any ideas, okay? she used his hoodie because it's the right type of thick and the warmth of it didn't make her sweat. eunbi gulped and tries to tug it gently off of moon bin, accidentally waking him up. he's a light sleeper, great. eunbi freezes again and moon bin wakes up to the sight of her pulling a grey hoodie beneath his body. his grey hoodie.
"go home, sleep on your own bed" eunbi says, not letting moon bin get the first word in this situation. the boy sits up, smirking. "you can keep it, pretend you're my girlfriend when you're alone" he teased. eunbi scowled, lets go of the hoodie and goes back to her study table.
"my house is not that big, see yourself out"
moon bin packs his things, he should really go home now. the medications make him drowsy and it's embarrassing to fall asleep on someone else's house. "thank you for the meal and lesson, kid" moon bin pulls the strap of his bag on his shoulder and pauses just as he was leaving her bedroom. "ask your other friends to fetch your things next time" moon bin adds.
"i don't have other friends, people can't stand my perfection and are always jealous of me" eunbi chimed in, flashing a confident smile on her lips. but somehow, moon bin finds it sad and broods on about it during his way home while eunbi looks back to where he sat on her bed after he's gone. that moron, he left his hoodie.
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stream apple on july 13, guys! 🍎