Minjeong went to the passenger seat. Jennie has already situated herself, fixing the seat and mirror. She pressed on the pedal lightly.
"Seatbelt, please."
Minjeong groaned in pain.
"Oh, don't be such a baby, Jeongie." Sunny said. Jeongie, a name he haven't heard in a while.
"The adrenaline is wearing off, I think. He did me good." Minjeong laughed.
Jennie gripped the steering wheel harder, "What you said earlier. Is it true?"
Earlier... ah must be during their argument
"Yeah... I even thought of going back together. She wanted me for who I am, after all." Minjeong said while staring out.
Jennie hummed, "I see. And what about the lonely part?" She turned the steering wheel to the right junction.
"I think I just said it in the heat of the moment. I'm fine, don't worry," he replied.
Jennie looked at him quickly, "Do not lie to me. Just a word, she's not good for you."
"What do you know about what's good and what's not for me? Are you me?" Minjeong raised his voice.
"I watched you almost die, okay? And it was because of her! I don't know what the hell you took that night. But I saw you flatlined for a minute," Jennie shouted.
Minjeong was about to say something but decided not to when he saw Jennie's eyes brimming with tears.
The 15 minutes drive to the hospital felt like forever.
Jennie dropped him off by the entrance, "Go, I'll be there later."
Minjeong dragged his feet, "Ugh, do we really have to do this." He talked to himself.
The procedures took them 2 hours. Turns out Jennie had called the police to make a report for an assault. She also called their father, who were clearly fuming at the news. He instructed Jennie to press charges to the man. The attending took pictures of the bruises. The man wore a ring and it cut into Minjeong's skin.
They inserted nose splints and administered painkillers for him. The rest of the night becomes hazy to him. When he was awake, he's already on a bed.
He looked around the room, squinting his eyes, he realised he is not in the hospital anymore. Yizhuo is in the same room as him, cleaning dust above the unused television.
"You know you're not a housekeeper right?" Minjeong said.
Yizhuo jumped in surprise, "Shit, Minjeong."
Minjeong sat upright by the edge of the bed, "What day is it?"
"Bro, they didn't give you any horse tranquilizer. It's Saturday," Yizhuo crossed his arms, the tiny duster still in his left hand.
Minjeong stretched his body and yawned loudly, "Ha, I wish they did." He smelled himself and grimaced, "Gonna take a shower now."
Yizhuo excused himself out of the room, leaving Minjeong with his privacy.
He stood in front of the window facing the garden and sighed loudly, "Do not think about her."
On the other side of the house
"Do you reckon we can visit him now?" Karina asked to Jisoo.
Jisoo, who is occupied with the task of clothes folding looked up, "I don't know. I could ask Jennie if you want." Karina threw herself on the bed, narrowly missing the folded clothes.
"So, you and Jennie huh? How is she?" Karina teased.
Jisoo covered herself with whatever is in her hands (unbeknownst to her, it was a bra)
Karina yanked the bra away from Jisoo,
"Pervert."
Jisoo started spilling about her newly found sex life to Karina. Karina couldn't help but to feel hot and bothered. "Where's Aeri, by the way?" Karina tried to sway Jisoo away from the PG18 topic.
"Probably rummaging the fridge as usual." Jisoo shrugged.
Karina stood up from the bed, pointing to the door, "I'm going to check on her real quick."
Karina closed the door behind her. She studied the layout of the house. The room in front of her is now occupied by Jisoo and Aeri. Karina might as well get lost in this house. The beige hallway decorated with portraits and unknown arts.
She walked through the hallway before stopping in front of a family portrait. She examined the portrait further, a man sat in the center with power exuding him, to the left of the man is a good-looking man. Hair swept to the back, his suit is clearly pressed To the right is a lady wearing a maroon knee length dress.
"That's my uncle," Jennie spooked Karina.
"He's the only one left now. Both his wife and son had passed away," she continued.
"Together? An accident?"
Jennie smiled weakly, "No.. Aunt Minzy died of liver failure. Doyoung... he committed suicide."
"Let's go downstairs. I bought some chicken," Jennie offered.
"I wish I could, but Jisoo is putting me on a strict diet," Karina muttered.
Jennie gasped, "Blasphemy. No, no, no. I'll talk to her about that. Food intake is extremely important to all living beings. Where is she?"
Karina pointed to her room. Jennie nodded and went on her way.
She continued her self-tour, heading downstairs. She saw a figure by the gazebo outside. It was Minjeong, dressed in a white shirt and khaki shorts. He held his held down and she could see him shaking his head.
Without thinking, she ran outside. Clearly out of breath, Karina greeted Minjeong,
"Hi."
Minjeong turned his body, and looked down on her feet, "Hi to you too. You're not wearing any shoes."
In her hurry, she must have forgotten to wear one. She waved her hands in dismissal.
"No, not about me this time. How are you? Are you okay?" she stared at Minjeong. Taking in the features of his face more.
She closed the distance between her and Minjeong. Her hands cupping Minjeong's cheeks. "Your face. Oh, I am going to kill him for sure," she gulped.
Minjeong found her threat amusing, "If you could beat my father into it."
Minjeong leaned further into Karina's hand, finding comfort in her presence.
"Thank you by the way," Minjeong said.
Karina moved her head in confusion, "What for? I'm the one who should be thankful to you." She let go of Minjeong's cheeks.
"You have been kind to me. So, thank you for that," Minjeong said with a grin. This feels like a rejection, she thought.
Both of them went back into the house when all of a sudden, Minjeong could feel all eyes on her and Minjeong. "There you guys are. Come on let's have some lunch," Jennie exclaimed. Her eyes stayed on Minjeong.
The lunch went well without a hitch. Yizhuo prepared them some baked goods. And it was heavenly. Laughters resonated around the house. Karina felt like she was being surrounded by a warm family. She stole a glance at Minjeong every so often.
In her room, Aeri cornered her. "You like him, don't you?"
Flustered, she quickly exclaimed, "No!"
"Honey, I've been with you since the beginning of your career. You think I don't know you yet?"
Karina pressed the heel of her palm to her eyes, "Ugh. You're so annoying."
"That's not a no or a yes," Aeri stood firmly.
"I mean, yeah, he's cute. But that doesn't mean that I like him. He is very easy to the eyes, you know?" Karina looked up to the ceiling. "Plus, he still has someone in his heart."
"And do pray tell, how did you know that?" Aeri questioned even further. Exasperated, Karina said, "He thanked me. For my kindness."
This gained a tiny smack to her forehead, "What is the correlation between that?" No correlation at all. She knows how to detect a rejection even if it is not obvious.
