Pandora's Box | kim mingyu & jeon wonwoo

10

After Nayoung had run off with her friends, I was left with nothing else to do. I was too uncomfortable to walk around her home and find some snacks to eat, so I was stuck with the snacks I had leftover from our journey here.

It was a painfully boring number of hours of me just laying on the guest bed, munching on some snacks, and scrolling through my phone. I had tried texting Wonwoo for some entertainment, but he never replied to me. I tried to pretend that his lack of response didn't hurt, and instead, I focused my energy on catching up to one of my favorite webcomics.

I was close to falling asleep when suddenly, I was startled awake as I heard the sound of the front door unlocking. I rushed to stand up and get dressed, but the idea of the person at the door being Nayoung's father abruptly stopped me in my tracks. I did not relax until I heard a voice call, "Mingyu! I'm back."

It was Lim Nayoung. Realizing this, I immediately calmed down (because what the fuck was she going to do to me?) and left the guest room to meet her in the hallway. "Why are you back so early?" I asked as I stole a glance at my watch: it was only 10:34 PM.

Instead of answering, she simply smiled. I watched as she slid off her shoes and she slipped on her slippers. "Would you like some tea?" Nayoung asked. I knew I should have said no, but I couldn't deny my hunger. I nodded. Her smile widened at that. "Take a seat, then."

"So your boyfriend is cheating on you?"

Nayoung had been quick to whip up chamomile tea and provide me with a plate full of crackers. The meal was pretty lackluster, and if I had been comfortable enough to take a tour of her kitchen, I was pretty sure I could do better. Still, I gobbled it all up as I listened to her troubles- the whole time, keeping the thought of Wonwoo at the back of my mind.

Nayoung chuckled at my question. "That's a little cold-hearted of you, don't you think?"

"My question?" I couldn't hide the confusion from my tone so I continued, "or was it the way I said it?"

"Both, I think," she took a sip of her tea, "I don't know. It was hard to hear, but I guess I'm not surprised." Nayoung shrugged, and I could see how hard she was trying to pretend that this didn't affect her at all. The fact that I could see right through it made me pity her all the more.

Even though I could tell that she was hurting, I decided to see how honest she was willing to be. I decided to probe and said, "for what it's worth, you don't seem all that affected. Maybe you didn't like him as much as you thought you did." I had tried for a nonchalant tone, and I seemed to have succeeded. I leaned in closer to get a close look at her reaction, but even I wasn't prepared for what she said next.

She sighed, closed her eyes, and threw her head back a bit. In a sad voice, she said, "yes." She swallowed, "I suppose I didn't."

We sat in silence after that.

The next day I made sure to wake up extra early and cook up breakfast. I prepared three full plates: for Nayoung's dad, her, and myself. When Nayoung finally woke up and emerged in the kitchen, it was clear she was stunned to see me.

"Sorry about this. I felt bad about staying in your dad's house, so I took it upon myself to make some breakfast," I explained. She nodded and took a seat at the counter. 

"I'm just more stunned to find out you actually know how to cook."

I scoffed at that. "Cause I'm a dude?" I asked, coming off as a bit more hostile than I had intended.