Chapter 46

My father has been out of the country for three days now. Finally not busy with meeting him or babysitting Ben, I've grown panicked by my studies. They've been put aside a bit lately and it has shown in my loss of understanding in the latest lectures. I hate feeling lost more than most things, so I've gone on a rampage with studying. Jaewook, however, texted me today, expressing his urge to see me. I was going to head to the café without my books, but last minute I took my bag with me. I just can't part with them right now. Once I arrive I'm a bit relieved to see that Jaewook is busy making drinks. I order my usual and take a seat, soon taking out my books. It's okay if I study a little bit, right? "Destiny, nice to see you." The familiar voice instinctually causes my face to grimace. "Or not," he adds. I simply nod my head at Hansoo and look back down at my textbook. "You came here to study? This isn't quite a library you know." "I know," I say through gritted teeth. "If you're so stressed with school shouldn't you go somewhere where you can focus?" "Excuse me but I was doing just fine with focusing until you came here." I glare at him fiercely but he simply snickers in return. This irks me the most—usually, people who are unfamiliar with me immediately grow quiet if I happen to give them an off look. But Hansoo doesn't falter one bit, in fact it's almost as if he likes to see me frustrated. "It was just a suggestion." He continues to lean on the table, his eyes now curiously looking at the open textbook. "Don't think I've forgotten about the act you pulled the other week," I say as my frustration builds. "What act?" He looks back up at me with a tilted head. "Lying to Jaewook to make me look like a crazy girlfriend." "Oh that," he smirks. "See! You admit it, asking me to hit you up if Jaewook and I don't work out is the definition of flirting." I curl my lip in disdain. "No, I'm pretty sure it isn't." "You cocky bastard, you made me seem like a crazy self-obsessed maniac," I mumble. "I didn't mean to, I swear. There's just something about you that makes me act like this. It's fun." "Fun?" "Fine, I'm sorry. I just met you guys, it's not like I knew you two were so disgustingly infatuated with each other." "Disgustingly?" My eyes widen. "I took my chances, I'll admit it. Have you seen your face in the mirror? Any guy is going to take a chance if they're brave enough. But I get it, you hate me and are in love with the high schooler." "He's graduating soon," I say in defence. "Whatever, clearly it works out since you're so obsessed with dominating over everyone." He rolls his eyes. "Two dominant people together just doesn't work out, you know?" He winks at me and I fake a gag. He has no idea. "I prefer a soft girl anyway, feminine. You just look feminine." "Can you stop insulting me please?" "I'm not insulting, I'm just stating my own preferences. Everyone is entitled to their own likes and dislikes. Clearly, Jaewook has different taste than me." "Well you're not alone mister Casanova, you're not my type either." "Well there we go then, everything's settled. Can we start fresh now?" "No." "Man, how does he put up with you?" "He doesn't need to put up with anything." I can feel my face burn up in anger, heat crawling up my neck and reaching my ears. "What's going on here?" Jaewook asks as he walks over. It's quite amusing to see the younger barista almost tower over the older. Despite Hansoo not nearly being short, Jaewook's body frame is much firmer and larger than Hansoo's, making him seem much taller than he already is. "I'm going to complain to Seungmin if Romeo-gone-wrong over here doesn't stop bothering me," I point to Hansoo who's suddenly smiling innocently, his eyes now crescent moons. "Not gonna work, Seungmin loves me," he says. "What are you saying now Hansoo?" Jaewook asks with a hand on his hip. He almost sounds older right now. "Nothing! I was just making it clear that I have no interest in her, but my god she's stubborn." Jaewook slightly raises his eyebrows and nods in understanding. "Hey!" "You can be stubborn baby," he looks down at me. "Baby? I thought you were the older one?" Hansoo asks me as he looks between the both of us. "I am," I say without looking away from Jaewook. "It's complicated," Jaewook adds. "You guys are weird," Hansoo says as he gets up and heads back to the counter. "He pisses me off," I grumble. "I know beautiful. I swear he's nice to me and everyone else, he just seems to clash with you." "You think?" His fingers move into my straightened hair, putting it up in a ponytail with his hand before letting it fall back down. If it were anyone else I would kill them—it takes so long to tame my hair in this way—but it's him. "Just ignore him. You're here for me, not him right?" "Of course." "I'm going to get jealous if you spend your time getting angry about him instead of thinking about me." His shadow conceals me as he moves closer, his eyes appearing even darker as he speaks lowly. I look up at him, feeling smaller than usual as he towers over me in my seat. "I always think about you." "Good." A grin quickly wipes away the mock jealousy he just acted. I stand up, his shadow now falling off my body. "Are you almost done your shift?" "Thirty more minutes." I lean in and cup my hand around his ear. "There's something about you in an apron that turns me on every time I see you." He snorts with laughter. "Oh really?" "My birthday's coming up soon," I say flirtatiously as I lightly grasp the straps of his black apron. "Oh is it?" One of his eyebrows raises as he smirks at me. "Mhm." I playfully fidget with one button on his white shirt. "Well, what do you want for your birthday?" He asks with a smile that suggests he knows what's coming. "You," I smile. His grin widens as he holds onto my face. "I'll see what I can do." He kisses the tip of my nose and walks away. I watch him with what's probably a dreamy smile—probably, because Hansoo makes a look of disgust at me from behind the counter. I stick my tongue out at him and sit back down. . . . I close the front door with a sigh, a bit frustrated that it's already evening. I didn't expect to spend the whole day with Jaewook, but it's so hard to complain about it. "You're out of the house more than I am now it seems," Zen says from his seat on the couch. His eyes are focused on whatever drama is on at this hour. "It's not affecting school is it?" He adds. "No," I say firmly. I always feel defensive when he starts acting all big brotherly on me, mostly because he doesn't do it often. "Hmm. Everything okay with Jaewook?" He finally looks over at me. "Yes," I hiss. "You sure? You've been on edge lately, that always happens when you're stressed out." "I'm fine," I spit out. He raises his arms up in mock surrender. "Don't kill me, not until Podo passes away first. God knows the cat is doomed if I suddenly disappear." "Hey! I feed him plenty." "Yeah, that's the point. I constantly have to empty his bowl. The cat's going to be mistaken for a mutated wolf soon." I roll my eyes and grab a snack before heading to the safety of my room. "Not even my damn cat," I mumble. Once I'm secluded I fall onto my bed. Podo happens to already be curled up in a ball on my bed, and I suddenly feel regretful. "I didn't mean it that way. You're the only one that doesn't purposely tease me these days," I sigh while petting the soft fur. My brain seems to be racing with thought after thought. So many little things begging for my attention, pushing to be resolved, but I don't even know where to begin.