Broken Deal | Choi Jiung

18

ba ram was waiting for ji ung who's doing his business as she cleaned a bit of the mess in her living room. her mother had went to work already and left some home-cooked meals for her to heat.

"ji ung! do you want to eat before you leave?- ah! when did you get out?!"

ba ram was clenching on her heart when she saw ji ung was right next to her. no sound or whatsoever, just him standing looking down at her with no expression on his face.

"2 seconds ago?"

"still, you can't just... you know, scared me like that..." ba ram turned to the kitchen and put away the meals into the fridge.

"are you not eating those?"

"i thought you don't want to eat?"

"do you? are you hungry?"

"a little?-"

"then I'll keep you company before i go home. eat." ji ung then sit at the dining table waiting for her. ba ram hesitated but smiled a bit hearing what ji ung said. she pulled out the meals out and placed it on the table again.

"it's nice to have a company sometimes. me and eomma rarely eat together because of her uncertain shift at work."

"so you always have dinner alone?" ji ung stood up and went to her kitchen cabinet where she kept her cutleries.

"not always, but most of the time, alone. it's often we have breakfast together but not dinner. sometimes, i skipped dinner too." ba ram wondered her eyes to ji ung who came back with a pair of chopsticks in his hand.

"then, it's not a good thing. you should always eat 3 times a day." ji ung picked two slices of meat in the bulgogi with his chopsticks and put it on top of her rice. "eat more, ba ram."

ba ram felt the heat coming to her face, flustered with ji ung's action. "you should eat too, then."

"i will have dinner at home, i promise." ji ung watched her eat and kept on piling her plate with meat when the plate was empty. "i have to take care of you for now."

"you know, ji ung, it's kinda hard to eat when you are in front of me like this."

"am i making you uncomfortable?"

"no! it's not like that, really." ba ram put down her cutleries and cleared her throat. "it just feels different. in a good way! of course. it's the first time someone do this other than mom."

"you really have no idea, do you?"

"what do you mean?"

ji ung chuckled. "i guess the one that i found perfect also has her flaws. am i not being obvious enough the whole time, ba ram?"

ba ram looked at ji ung, confused. ba ram's head was empty. she was totally clueless on what ji ung was saying. it felt like learning a new quotation and she didn't know the answer even when she tried so hard to.

"i like you, ba ram."

"oh?"

"so what i was saying, i am not doing all of these just because of the deal. i can go and steal all the exam's answer sheet and give it to you if i want to. but i know you won't want to do that. and you know how i have never been awake in our class before but i studied and learned after so long? it wasn't even a part of the deal but i did it for you. i talked to my dad for the first time after years just to kick yoo ra from the school for you. i used the subway for the first time because of you. you were the reason i stopped using my fist to solve a problem. I didn't even thought it was possible for me to laugh or smile but i found it easy to do whenever I'm with you. i like you, ba ram. I'm more than happy to be able to help you just the slightest bit if it means to get a smile from you." ji ung smiled at her after telling her what's been stuck in his heart that made him have sleepless nights.

"it's too much for you to take, right? I'm not hoping for a yes or no. but, this is my honest feelings for you and i just want you to know or else I'll go crazy."

-

(finally, time to squeal?) XD

i never actually thought that this book could even reached #1 in choijiung's tag. thank you so much 😭

- yun
unedited