Magnetic

Chapter 11

It turns out that "studying" with Chanyeol was as distracting as I thought it would be. For me at least. He didn't seem to have a problem. My eyes were constantly scanning the room for anyone I may recognize. I didn't know why though. My brain was working into overtime trying to figure out what was up with this sudden study session and if it was something completely out of the ordinary for two people who were just sleeping together. I guess at the end of the day, we both still were students. School work was just as important as stress relief.
"Did you eat?" We had both been working for a solid two hours, not saying a word so I was a bit startled when he spoke.
"Um, no." the library was starting to fill up as a good chunk of classes were ending for the day.
"We still need to go to Kahari?" It was a genuine suggestion. Like real friends trying to decide what to do next. Oddly enough, I was a bit hungry and I hadn't had Kahari in a while.
"Sure." I said finally. He smiled and started to pack away his things. I did the same. We wordlessly left the library and I followed his steps to the parking lot. The skies had started to turn gray, threatening rain. I couldn't remember if the forecast predicted it for the day or not. All I remembered was that it was going to be fifty degrees Fahrenheit, which was the coldest it's been since fall started.
"Are you going home for break?" He asked as we walked toward his car at the end of the lot. It always looked so clean. He really took good care of it.
"Yeah." It was accompanied by a sigh.
"Don't sound too excited." He joked. The thought of home really wasn't as comforting as it should have been. Sure, I loved my parents and all but...it was hard to explain. I felt lonelier at home than I did on campus. It always felt as if I was hiding something from my them. Not able to tell them all that was going on. My automatic response to their questions when I visited was that school was going fine and I was fine, regardless of if I was only moments from having a complete meltdown. Everything had to be fine. They wouldn't take it well otherwise. I remembered my mistake of telling them I was stressed my second semester of freshman year and they basically told me to suck it up. They cared about me a lot but they didn't handle feelings well. I couldn't imagine the malfunction their brains would go through if I really told them what I had been going through.
"Home is home." I shrugged.
"I get that." He said with a nod. He unlocked his car and pulled the door open for me. I hopped in and put my seatbelt in as he climbed into the driver's seat after throwing his bag in the backseat. "I'm heading home too. I finally have time to visit my older sister so I'm kind of excited about that."
"That's awesome." I smiled with him. It seemed as if home for him was a much better experience than it was for me which was nice. "You have any other siblings?"
"Nope, just me and Yoora." There was a fond smile on his face that made my heart melt a little. "Do you have any siblings?"
"Just me, if you couldn't guess by now." I said. He chuckled.
"You're not as bad as some only children that I know."
"Emphasis on "as bad"." I said. He laughed and started the car.

Music played through the speakers and warm air came through the vents. I sunk into the soft leather seat with my hands between my knees as he navigated to Kahari. I watched the sky expectantly, waiting for the rain to fall, but it never did. The relatively quiet ride ended when he found a parking space right in front of the restaurant. Kahari was in the city but not too deep where finding a spot would be horrendous.
"Have you ever had Jamaican food before?" I asked once we were exposed to the cold again. He shook his head and I stared at him. My jaw dropped. "Are you serious? How?"
"I'm Korean?" He tried with an innocent smile and shrug. I glared at him and shook my head.
"Not an excuse." He opened the door for me and we entered, immediately smacked in the face with the heavenly aroma of various spices and savory foods.
"Can you order for me?" He asked as we got in line. There were only two people in front of us.
"You trust me that much even with my questionable taste?" I teased.
"I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself."
"Damn, I guess I better not fuck this up then." I said. He laughed. When it was our turn, I ordered him a jerk chicken platter and myself an ox tail platter. I managed to convince him to let me pay and he reluctantly conceded. When we received our orders, we decided to head back to his place. Because it was closer.