Dull [Book III]

Movie

The elevator music killed the awkward silence between them as it made its way to Soojung's floor. Her mind was filled with a lot of things – mostly questions about Lay's life that she wanted to ask about, but didn't have the courage to say so.

Having seen his flat, Soojung was almost embarrassed to let Lay see hers. It was spotless, not a dust in place. He might be calling her out later for not being tidy just like her father did, but she would understand. After all, Soojung's apartment really was a pigsty.

He helped her with her grocery bags and carried both, smiling every once in a while to assure her that he was fine. She insisted on carrying one but Lay was against it, saying she shouldn't tire herself up especially now that her shoulder was in the process of healing.

They walked to the corridor and Soojung saw the girl next door pushing her key in, so she called her and Dohee responded with a smile... although, that very smile melted at the sight of the cast on her arm.

"What happened to you?" Dohee asked, pointing at the injury. Lay stood quiet behind her and placed the grocery bags next to her door so he could rest a little while they chat.

"I got hit by a truck." She said flatly, and the older girl gasped.

"What!?"

"Kidding, unnie." She snorted. "It's just a minor thing from skating. But don't worry, it won't happen again."

"I don't know why I find that hard to believe." Dohee giggled and noticed Lay, glancing at him before darting her sight to Soojung in hopes that they would be introduced. Soojung quickly got the signal and turned to Lay, grabbing him gently by the arm so she could pull him beside her.

"Unnie, this is my classmate, Lay." She smiled and Lay bowed, to which Soojung gestured towards the older girl. "Lay, this is Dohee unnie."

"It's nice to meet you." She smiled. "Well, I'll go in now. You kids have fun."

"See you later, unnie." Soojung waved and entered her own apartment, followed by Lay who was looking around the place. She lead him to the kitchen and Lay placed the bags on the small dining table she rarely ever used, turning to her who was grabbing a glass of water. "Care for a drink?"

"What?" Lay chuckled.

"Do you want a glass of water too or...?" Soojung asked. "Sorry, I'm really bad at being hospitable."

"Yeah, I see that." He grinned. "Water would be nice, thank you."

She did as she was told and gave him the glass, before grabbing one bag from the table and setting it atop the counter so it would be closer to the fridge. Most of them ended up inside but she still had a few that belonged to the cupboards like salt and pepper and such. There weren't much canned goods, but Soojung looked up at another cupboard and opened it, finding the highest shelf empty.

She took one can and had to tiptoe to reach it but with her arm stretched to the limit, it just wasn't enough. All of a sudden without so much of a warning, she felt herself being pressed against the counter and another hand took the can from her, reaching up to the shelf. Her back was to Lay's front and Soojung turned around slowly, but he didn't pull away or anything. Lay just stopped moving and looked down at her, eyes saying a thousand words at once while his small smile melted and his dimple disappeared.

They were extremely close and if it weren't for her arm hanging in front of her with a cast, they would be in total body-to-body contact. The very thought of it made Soojung's cheeks heat up in sync with her pulse racing, and she secretly hated herself for wanting it that way.

Soojung cleared her throat to shun the idea away and Lay tiptoed to finally put the can on the highest shelf, stepping back and flashing his dimpled smile again to kill the tension. She forgot all about it after that, focusing on how he looked now that he was being positive about every little thing.