knight in amor | na jaemin

Seaweed soup

Days passed and it was filled with lots of fun. Yeseul saw herself growing closer to both Jungwoo and Jeyi, letting her walls down eventually over a short period of time. They played board games, watched old movies, had home concerts and fashion runways, baked...and burnt cookies in the oven. There was always something to do with the pair.

Yet Jungwoo was a working adult and Jeyi still had classes at college, so when they were busy or not at home, Yeseul had to tend to keeping the house clean or doing something to kill time. As they both got busier she knew they wouldn't remember the fact that she drunkenly told them it was her birthday this week. As the day approached, she was met with an empty apartment.

She did the usual, it was like any other day for her, wake up, wash up, clean the house, cook food, run to the store and watch movies. She changed lazily into baggy jeans and a belly top before throwing a fleece jacket on top before walking into the hallway.

She could hear voices in the living room and she popped her head in to see what was going on and jungwoo was first to lay his eyes on her

"Seul! Come here!" He said, motioning his hand towards the space on the floor beside him as he sat with the others around the low coffee table. The smell of freshly cooked food was inviting.

"Yeseul, this is my Mom and Dad, they came to visit"

"Oh hi, nice to meet you" Yeseul bowed to them both before she took a seat on the floor beside Jungwoo

"Oh wow, you have good manners" the dad complimented and she smiled

"Yeseul-ah, Jeyi told me on the phone that it was your birthday, so i made you some seaweed soup! It's probably not as good as your mum makes i-" the woman was cut off by Jeyi who signalled her to stop mentioning Yeseul's family.

"..ah..t-thank you, you really didn't have to go out of your way-"

"Out of my way? Not at all, everyone deserves a good meal on their birthday" the woman said with a bright smile and Yeseul couldnt help but return one back

"You get two bowls of rice today! It's your special day. There's some pickled spinach as well, make sure you eat your greens okay? Here you go sweetie" the woman said with love and affection as she placed two bowls of rice in front of Yeseul on the table, placing a slice of egg roll there as well

"Eat up" the woman said as she was Yeseul stare at the food infront of her. It took her a few seconds to look up at the woman with tears in her eyes, yet she smiled.

"Thank you for the meal" she said as a tear fell down her cheek but she was quick to wipe it away and awkwardly laugh it off

She took her spoon and dug into her food, tasting a bit of everything as she looked back up to those around the table.

"It's really delicious" She said, the tightening feeling in her chest and the lump in her throat making it harder for her swallow.

"Good, i spent hours making sure the beef was well marinated" the man said and she smiled, bowing once more

Jungwoo and Jeyi took turns filling up her stomach by placing pieces of meat and vegetables onto her rice, making her finish whatever she got.

As the group finished their meals, Jungwoo was in a conversation with Jeyi's father about the company he worked at while Jeyi was hugging her mum lovingly who was washing the dishes.

"Please excuse me, I'm going to run to the store to buy some groceries" Yeseul said standing up

"Oh, I'll come with you" Jeyi said but Yeseul shook her head

"No its okay, you should spend more time with your parents" Yeseul said and Jeyi nodded with a smile.

"Thank you so much for the food, have a safe trip back home" Yeseul said to Jeyi's parents and the woman smiled at her dearly

"Stop thanking us, make sure you eat the vegetables i left for you in the fridge. I want you to look more healthy next time i come visit" She said and Yeseul nodded

"I will, thank you"

"Call me eomma from now on, hopefully I'll have a child like you in my next life" the woman said with a smile

"Hey!" Jeyi said dramatically and Yeseul chuckled

"Yes" Yeseul agreed

"Yes...what?" The woman asked with hands on hips and Yeseul chuckled

"Yes eomma" she replied and the woman smiled

"Go on, change into a warmer jacket too!" The woman said as Yeseul exited the apartment with a smile on her face. Although she was happy and had an amazing time, she couldn't help but feel hurt. The pain in her chest was getting stronger.

As if heaven answered her prayers the rain started to pour down, water droplets hitting her face, that's when it all came loose.

Yeseul couldn't help but let the tears fall down her cheeks aimlessly as she walked across the empty streets to the supermarket. The thoughts of the happy times she would have with her family entered her mind. Although they weren't the best family, they had their good moments, that's what she missed the most.

Without focusing exactly on where she was walking, she just happened to bump into a man who was rushing to get some shelter from the rain. She fell back and landed on her butt, her wrist scraping against the pavement as they tried to stabilise her fall. Before she could look at the man who bumped into her, he was already long gone, running against the wind to gain shelter, not to wet his expensive suit.

"Rich asshole" she muttered underneath her breath but the realisation that the rain was pouring on everywhere except her body made her look up, seeing a bright coloured yellow umbrella above her.

"What the-" she cut herself off as her eyes finally landed on Na Jaemin. The boy who always seemed to appear when she needed him, not that she would ever admit it though.

"Are you okay? Stand up, I'm getting wet"Jaemin said reaching out his hand for her helping her stand up onto her feet, now covering both their heads with the umbrella.

"looks like it hurts" he said, looking at the bloody scraped on her wrist that were stinging before he met her bloodshot eyes and red cheeks.

"I-I....should get going" she said pulling her wrist away from his grip but before she could walk away from him he said,

"I know you said you didn't need
a knight in shining armour, but
let me save you just this once"