off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ ninety

These days, Jiyeon found Jiwoong in her room more often than she herself would expect. He had this habit of showing up at her house at any random hour of the day, chocolate or other snacks in hands, and of course, she could never find it in herself not to let him in. Whether it was his presence, or the food he always brought, that truly convinced her, none could say for sure, but her bedroom had soon become their main hangout spot. After all, she rarely set a foot outside of her home. She could hardly blame him for inviting himself over, if he wanted to see her more often than once in a blue moon.

Today though, Jiwoong had not come on a whim — Jiyeon had invited him. A little something she’d found on the internet a few days ago hadn’t stopped tickling her brain, and she needed to get his opinion, which she valued so much. That was how Jiwoong found himself in her desk chair, as she nervously stood before him, her hands behind her back, as if preparing to give the presentation of her life.

"Okay, so," she finally started, and Jiwoong suppressed a sigh of relief. "These past few years, I've been doing writing contests for, like, short stories. But this time, I found, um, a big one."

He furrowed one eyebrow, his fingers tapping against the armrests of her chair. "Yeah? What kind?"

"Well, basically, you have to send in one chapter of an unfinished novel, and the winner will get to have their book published by the publisher organizing the contest! They even get to work alongside editors to make it perfect."

When she'd stumbled upon it, Jiyeon had felt her heart swell in her chest. Until then, she had never won a single contest she had participated in, and she had almost let it convince her to give up for good, or at least until she would be confident enough in her skill. But that particular contest had caught her eye and restored her hope, as if fate was telling her she needed to submit her work. As if, if she just took that leap, something good would happen. Jiyeon believed in fate and destiny when it came to love, but maybe there was a god of writing, too.

"That sounds good," Jiwoong said as he nodded slowly, still a bit puzzled. "So, did you send them the first chapter of Leap in Destiny?"

She winced. "That's actually why I asked you here. Can you read it and tell me what you think, so I can make some changes before I submit it? It's hard to have an objective opinion on something you're so close to, so I need someone else's perspective."

By now, she had written more than that first chapter, but that first milestone hadn’t left her mind. And even as she read it and reread it feverishly, Jiyeon couldn’t even notice the spelling mistakes, as if her nose was buried so deep into it she couldn’t see the big picture. As if the words themselves had been etched so deep into her mind, she wasn’t reading them at all, just remembering. Waiting, and forgetting, would have been her usual strategy. But the deadline did not permit her to take her time, and she needed a fresh pair of eyes now.

For a minute, she'd considered asking her mother. The embarrassment of showing such amateur work to such an accomplished author had quickly pushed the thought of her mind. Not to mention, it felt like she would never dare criticize her beloved daughter. Asking Yujin was pointless; he'd never been very receptive to the romance books she loved so much, so contrary to her mother, she imagined he would only have criticism, even for the good things. She wasn’t quite close enough to Haewon or Yanmei to ask them such a big favor... Jiwoong was the only one.

Judging by the moue on his face, he didn’t seem to agree with that. "I'm... I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask... I don't know much about writing," he murmured as he embarrassedly rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's okay! Future readers aren't professionals either. I just want your honest thoughts."

"Hmm... Alright then, I'll take a look," he relented, obviously unable to resist a request from her.