Dull [Book III]

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Sunday piled onto the already bad accident from Saturday, and Soojung was not thrilled to be sent home from the hospital.

Her father was more than worried to hear about her dangerous activities and the moment he saw her awake on her bed, Soojung got a taste of vexed reprimands in front of Jiyong and Dr. Shim. But how could she blame the man? They didn't see each other much and now that they did, she had a cast to remind her of her stupidity and irrationalism inside the rink.

Bad thoughts shouldn't be in her head while skating and she was thinking of Jiyong that day, partly causing her crash. They were starting to cloud her mind again because of Lay and Sunyoung, and the worst part was that she felt like she was being unfaithful to her boyfriend for not liking how close the two were, or how they were holding hands.

Mood already off, she was released and was allowed to go home, accompanied by her father as he insisted to make sure she wouldn't do anything dumb again. Jiyong went separate ways, because he was perfectly aware of what Soojung's father thought of him. The man gave him the cold shoulder and Soojung had always called her father off for that, but she couldn't do anything now that she was trying to make up for the horrible thing that happened to her.

They arrived at the apartment fairly quickly and she shoved the key in, turning it slowly. He pushed the door open and the first thing that came to his sight was the pizza box on the coffee table that she didn't dispose of.

"It's starting to smell." Her Appa noticed, walking to the box and opening it, only to find the leftover crust pieces molding. It had been sitting there for two nights now, the accompaniment of a good movie on Friday night. "Do you ever clean your apartment?"

"Actually, Appa, I – "

Before she could even continue, Appa walked to the door of her bedroom and revealed her nest, disappointment showing in his expression as he eyed the huge mess on the floor, clothes scattered everywhere and stuff for school sprawled on her bed.

"Chae Soo-jung!" He shouted, glaring at her and gesturing for her to come close. She reluctantly walked towards her bedroom and watched as he picked a few pieces of clothing up and hang them on a chair. "Is this what you call independent!? I allowed you to live alone because I thought you knew how to take care of yourself and be responsible!"

She gulped and observed everything, from the open closet to her slightly dusty computer. The sight was perfectly normal for her and it appeared like home, but Soojung couldn't say that to her father. Of course, anyone would be shocked to see a girl's place as untidy as hers, and even though she liked it that way, no reason would make her Appa understand.

"I have everything under control, Appa." She said softly. "It's just a bit messy, but that's because I've been doing a lot of schoolwork and didn't take time to notice."

"'Just a bit messy'?" He repeated incredulously. "This is chaotic, Soojung! And don't tell me that you don't notice because I don't have to take two glances to see how disorganized your place is! And how many times a week do you do your laundry!? Once if you feel like it!?"

Soojung kept her head down as her father walked to various spots in her bedroom, checking everything. She only looked up again when he stopped in front of her computer and pressed the power button, sending her heartbeat in a race that she stepped forward, panicked.

"Appa..." She uttered shakily. "It's broken."

He huffed and looked at Soojung full of meaning, eyes wide and lips pursed. He put his hands on his hips and walked out of the bedroom, his daughter following until they were in the kitchen. Her heart started to pound again when Appa looked through the empty cupboards, probably finding out if she was eating healthy or not.