cold coffee / ijb

+ twenty

chapter twenty
***

"you-" dahye started wondrously.

"yeah," aera took a sip from her coffee mug, looking anywhere but at the astonished k-idol sitting in front of her.

her and dahye had decided to catch up over coffee in the back tables of the small café owned by none other than miss im herself. jaebum had become considerably aggressive with his 'rules' and aera hadn't spoken to any male human being besides jaebum since the night of their double date. every time a young or old man came up to order at the café, jaebum would shove her aside and take her place at the register no matter how much the costumers protested.

"aera when was the last time you even had a conversation with him?" dahye pondered, picking up the obvious tension between the two.

"when you think about it, i've never had an honest conversation with jaebum.. except maybe... you know. when we talk it's him bossing me around or just being rude," aera choked up suddenly. "dahye i.. i had sex with a man that i've never had a conversation with."

aera buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking. dahye placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"i don't even know his favorite color," aera almost sobbed.

dahye shot a glare in jaebum's direction. obliviously, he continued his work, wiping down the counter like he hadn't taken the innocence of a girl he refuses to open up to.

"what's wrong with me?" aera whispered, looking up from her hands with bloodshot eyes.

"nothing! oh god, nothing," dahye assured. "it's him, aera. he's just a douche."

"a douche that i had sex with!" aera suddenly shouted, face turning white when every head in the café turned to her, including jaebum's.

jaebum gritted his teeth, hopping over the counter with ease. he walked over to their table and pulled a frozen aera up from her seat, shoving a dirty rag into dahye's hands.

"mind taking over for me?" he asked, not waiting for an answer before he was dragging aera into the storage closet, slamming the door roughly as soon as they entered.

"what's your issue?" he pressed and aera winced at his sharp tone.

"last week i- we..." jaebum waited impatiently, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.

"we...?" jaebum mocked. "had sex? yes, i'm aware."

"we don't even know each other," aera mumbled. "we haven't even talked."

he rested the palm of his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes.

"aera, we live together. hell, we share a bedroom! we share a fucking mattress!"