Start-Up

In the Apartment

In-jae opened her eyes slowly, and winced as her head was pounding.

"Where am I?" she mumbled as she sat up slowly in the dark room. It was not familiar at all, so she got out of bed and opened the door.

She blinked at the lights outside and saw Ji-pyeong sitting at the table, typing away at his laptop. He was looking at the screen, deep in concentration, and In-jae stood at the doorway just watching him.

There was no denying that he was a handsome man, especially with those killer dimples. But there was something else about Ji-pyeong that In-jae found attractive. Perhaps it was the way that he seemed to understand her well and see through her facade. Whenever she read his letters to her, she felt like she had a kindred spirit in him. That both of them were going through this life determined to show others just how strong they were, but they were really just broken deep inside.

"What is this?" In-jae shook her head at the thought of this sudden vulnerability, and she sniffed with disdain. With that sniff, she caught a whiff of the stench of alcohol on her clothes and she made a gagging noise.

Ji-pyeong turned in surprise, "Oh, you're up."

"I stink," she made a face, and he stood up.

"Hang on," he said as he pushed past her and into the room. He turned on the light and In-jae saw that it was his bedroom. She felt a flush creep up her cheeks when she realized she had fallen asleep on his bed.

Ji-pyeong stood in front of his closet and took out a pair of drawstring shorts and a white button down shirt. He handed them to her and said, "The bathroom is at the end of the hall. There are extra towels in there."

In-jae nodded at him and headed down the hall, closing the bathroom door behind her.

As the water turned on, Ji-pyeong stopped in his tracks and stared down the hallway. In-jae was taking a shower in his house. She would be wearing his clothes. The thought of it made him feel warm, and he shook his head. What was he thinking?! "You're doing what anyone would do for her in this situation," he mumbled to himself as he stepped into the kitchen, ready to busy himself with anything that would keep his mind off whatever was happening in the bathroom now.

Little did he know that In-jae was thinking the exact same thing as she toweled off and put on his clothes. Her face turned red as she tightened the drawstring of his shorts and folded up the sleeves of his shirt. "It's just clothes, In-jae," she muttered to herself, trying not to think of how this same cloth had touched his skin and hugged his muscular frame.

In-jae shook her head fiercely, as if she could shake away the intimate thoughts. "It's a kindness. Your clothes stink. No one wants to sit in stinky clothes," she repeated to herself in the mirror, before squaring her shoulders and opening the bathroom door.

"I made you some hangover soup," Ji-pyeong said, gesturing to the bowl of soup sitting at the table beside his laptop. He tried to ignore the way his heart thundered in his chest at the sight of her petite frame drowning in his clothes. 

"Thanks," she said gratefully, taking a seat beside him at the table and bringing a spoonful of soup to her lips. The soup warmed her belly, and she ate it with gusto.

"Slow down," he laughed, "There's more in the kitchen."

"It's really good," she said, taking another sip, "You made this yourself?"

He nodded, "You need to learn to take care of yourself when you're alone."

That made her pause and look at him. He was looking out the window and his jaw was set. In-jae recognized that expression. She did it herself often, and she knew what it meant.

Ji-pyeong blinked then turned to her, "So what happened? Why were you getting wasted in the middle of the day?"

The events of the day suddenly came flooding back to In-jae, and the entire sordid tale burst forth as she had more soup and Ji-pyeong listened intently.

"So, basically, I learned that a CEO without shares is no better than chewed up gum," she scoffed as she finished the story. Despite her bravado, In-jae felt tears spring to her eyes as she realized that she had blown up her life as she knew it. 

Ji-pyeong was quiet beside her as In-jae took a shaky breath. "What, are you going to hug me again?" In-jae said sarcastically, although deep inside she wished he would.

He looked out the window again and sighed. "You know, when your grandma used to hug me, I really hated it. I always thought, what was the point? It's not like a hug solved anything."

Then he turned to her and continued, "But your grandma told me, she would hug me so that I could cry as hard as I wanted without worrying about anyone watching me. For as long as she was hugging me, she couldn't look into my face, so I didn't have to feel ashamed."

The tears welled up in In-jae's eyes and were dangerously close to falling. Ji-pyeong raised an eyebrow at her, and In-jae nodded. She let him pull her close, and she hid her face in his chest as she cried. Her body was wracked with sobs as he held her tight and rubbed her back comfortingly. In the safety of his arms, In-jae poured out all of her feelings of anger, frustration, and fear as she realized she had no idea what she was going to do next. She found herself wrapping her arms around his waist and clinging to him as she cried harder.

Ji-pyeong felt his chest tighten as In-jae sobbed harder, but strangely, his heart fluttered at the feel of her holding on to him. He hated that she was crying, but liked that he could comfort her. He liked having her in his arms, and wished it was under better circumstances.

He tucked her head under his chin and kept a hand on her head to hold her close to him. He waited until her sobs finally subsided before saying, "Now isn't this better than an email?"

It made In-jae laugh through her tears, then she took a deep, shuddering breath before she pulled away.

"Gosh, I must look terrible," she sniffed as she wiped her eyes, hoping her mascara hadn't run.

Ji-pyeong shook his head as he looked at her. "Still beautiful," he said softly, and she blushed.

She heaved a deep sigh and stared out the window. "I can't believe I have to go home after all this."

"Then don't."

She turned to him and he shrugged. "It's late. We can pop your clothes in the wash. You don't have to go if you don't want to, if you're not ready to."

The thought of staying the night made In-jae feel warm all over, and even if she was so used to denying what she really wanted, for once she decided to give in.

She nodded at him with a small smile, and her heart skipped a beat as he flashed his dimples at her.

"Let me go and get you more soup then," Ji-pyeong stood up and headed to the kitchen, leaving In-Jae to look out the window, wondering what lay ahead in the night.