WARM HUGS [SOOLIA]

Chapter 036

[This photo is not mine; credits to the owner🥺]

>>>Understanding<<<

Jisu adjusted the bag strap of her bag before knocking on the front door lightly, waiting for Soobin to answer. The couple agreed to meet at his house to discuss where they would stay in California.

Jisu was marveling at how surreal it felt to have Soobin move with her when Beomgyu had unexpectedly ruined her train of thoughts by being the one to answer the door.

"Beomgyu!" Jisu grinned in a friendly manner, waving to him cheerfully. He offered her an identical grin before ushering her inside, closing the door after. Jisu scanned the place for Soobin before taking off her shoes, failing to spot him.

"He's in the living room. His eyes haven't left the laptop since this morning." Beomgyu hummed lowly, offering a small smile when Jisu thanked him before she walked away to find Soobin.

Jisu bit back a small smile seeing Soobin sitting in the middle of the sofa, eyes indeed trained on the screen as he seemed to tune out his surroundings. His glasses that were perched on the tip of his nose threatened to fall off, yet he paid no attention to it.

He had only noticed Jisu's presence when she had stepped closer to him and taken the liberty to help him push up his glasses. Soobin grinned as he stared at Jisu when her hand traveled to his bangs to fix them for him.

Beomgyu leaned on the doorframe, feeling more single than he should have when Soobin grabbed onto Jisu's waist, pulling her down to sit next to him as he wrapped his arms around her, snuggling his head into her neck in a clingy manner.

"Damn it, shouldn't have broken up with Surin." Beomgyu cursed before walking away from the couple to prevent himself from feeling more single already.

"What were you doing?" Jisu giggled as she pushed Soobin's face away playfully. Soobin glared at her before Jisu's eyes wandered to his laptop to see he was on a website to find a house.

"You started without me?" Jisu gasped in annoyance, slapping Soobin's shoulder as she scowled at him. Soobin clutched onto his shoulder, groaning in pain as he overdid it.

"I just wanted to save time to study some English!" Soobin whined as he continued to glare at Jisu. Jisu offered him a meek smile before pulling him in to give him an apologetic peck on his cheek.

"My baby's so hardworking." Jisu cooed at Soobin, which made a faint blush coat his cheeks. Nevertheless, he hid his flustered state with a scoff as he gave Jisu a disapproving look.

"Who you calling baby? I'm more than 20cm taller than you." Jisu's smile dropped as she looked at Soobin pointily before tearing her eyes away to the laptop, sulking.

Soobin chuckled before ruffling her hair, turning his attention to the laptop as well. The duo sat in silence, looking through the houses before debating which one was better.

They had decided to take a break after deciding to view 3 houses. They had already notified the real estate agent of the date they'd be arriving in California and when they wanted to view the houses.

"Dear God, shouldn't have overestimated the elasticity of my bladder," Soobin whimpered as he quickly placed the laptop next to him. Jisu chuckled at him, having seen him bounce his legs restlessly for the past half an hour.

"I'll teach you how to have a conversation with a real estate agent afterward!" Jisu called out as Soobin dashed off, giving her an okay sign before completely disappearing from her view.

Jisu shook her head as a small smile was evident on her lips. She whipped out her phone to check on the notifications she may have received in the past 2 hours.

She paused in her scrolling when she heard a weird noise approaching her. It sounded like someone...sniffling. It sounded awfully familiar as well. Jisu quickly put away her phone and peered toward the hallway.

Her eyes faltered seeing Yun-Jae emerging from the hallway. She had a growth spurt the last time Jisu saw her, it was now a bit more obvious that she was taller than Jisu. However, her hunched figure had made it hard for Jisu to recognize that she had grown.

"Yun-Jae?" Jisu called out softly as she stared at Yun-Jae who had flinched at the sudden voice. She turned over to Jisu, rubbing her heart as she offered a weak smile.

"I thought you left," Yun-Jae excused softly as she quickly wiped her tears away. Jisu offered a sad smile before pursing her lips, scooching over so that Yun-Jae could take a seat next to her.

Yun-Jae slowly sat down as Jisu tapped the empty spot invitingly, offering an encouraging smile. Jisu ran a hand through her tousled hair which was wet and unkempt.

Yun-Jae flushed pink in embarrassment as she tried to tame her bangs, making Jisu chuckle. The duo sat in silence as Yun-Jae silently combed through her hair with her fingers roughly.

"I'm sorry, I feel like I cry all the time you come over," A weak, breathy chuckle left Yun-Jae's lips as she lowered her head. Jisu glanced over at her, pitying the poor girl who seemed to be only facing obstacles all the time.

"Is it that boy again? I swear to God I will-" Yun-Jae quickly cut Jisu off with a hasty cough, preventing the not-so-nice words to spill out of her mouth. Besides, it wasn't him this time.

"It's Soobin..." Yun-Jae mumbled as she played with her fingers. She glanced at Jisu, shocked to see Jisu's eyes darken, which didn't suit her cute and soft image.

"I will fucking end him," Yun-Jae's eyes widened in surprise as Jisu narrowed her eyes, cracking her knuckles menacingly. Yun-Jae gulped before quickly assuring her it wasn't what she was thinking about it.

"Oh? Then why are you so upset?" Jisu switches up so fast that Yun-Jae wants to choke on air. Yun-Jae rubs her arms against her thighs nervously, contemplating whether she should actually tell Jisu.

"I'm going to miss him," Yun-Jae sighs, chuckling weakly at the end in a measly attempt to assure Jisu she was alright. Jisu furrows her eyebrows, thinking about Yun-Jae's answer.

Jisu sits there, lost in thought as Yun-Jae starts sniffling all again. It's only when Jisu hears Yun-Jae's whimpers does she snap out of it. She turns to stare at Yun-Jae, who covers her mouth as she squeezes her eyes tight, the tears flowing down endlessly.

Jisu slowly pulls the younger into a hug, whispering sweet nothings as she continues to stroke the younger's hair. Honestly, is Soobin okay? He can't possibly be peeing for this long. Jisu hoped he'd come soon and fix this with Yun-Jae.

But she can't help but feel that this is her fault, that the only reason Yun-Jae is crying is because of her. Her insecurity makes her purse her lips, and no matter how hard she tries to shove it to the back of her mind, it always comes back again.

What if she's the reason why their bond breaks?

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~Viky
🌸🎶☕