annyeong | im jaebum

10회

It was huge.

I had to double check the address Jaebum texted me to make sure I was at the right place.

Yep. I thought, looking up at the mansion in front of me. This must be the one.

"What are you doing just standing in my yard?" A voice called.

I looked over to see Jaebum, who had appeared in the front doorway.

"Oh." I muttered, rushing inside.

"Where should I put my things?" I asked once I was in.

When I looked at him, I could see that his hair was slightly tousled but still clean, like he had just come out of the shower. He wore a plain black t-shirt that fit his broad shoulders and toned chest. He looked different than his usual school attire. Less flashy and more carefree. I kind of liked it.

My eyes went back to the floor, embarrassed for him to look at me after I had been crying, especially when he looked like that.

Jaebum waved his arm toward his shoulder in motion for me to follow him.

I did. I hung two steps behind as he lead me through the front hallway of his house.

My eyes were wide as they scanned the rooms we passed by. I couldn't believe that I was in the house of the one and only Im Jaebum. Never in a trillion years would I have thought that I would be able to say those words. I wondered how many girls from school would be able to say them as well.

Despite the large size and modern decorations furnishing the house, it still felt welcoming. Like a home.

Framed on the wall of the living room was a family photo of a man and a woman holding hands with a small child. I looked closer and noticed a freckle above the child's eye. Jaebum had that same one.

Aww, I thought as I looked the still of young Jaebum smiling into the distance.

"Where are your parents right now?" I asked, the picture striking a curiosity in me. "Do they work during the day or something?"

Jaebum shrugged. "I don't know."

"What do you mean-?"

"I mean, yeah, I guess you can say that they work late." He kept walking, speaking with his back to me but turning his head every so often to make sure that I was still listening. "They're always gone for their business. Traveling and stuff. I used to keep track of where they were and when they were coming back, but now I just roll with it. Don't want to get my hopes up, you know."

I nodded, kind of struck by the change in his tone of voice during the last part.

For some odd reason, I felt a connection to his story. Although my parents never went on long business trips and they were always nearby, they were so emotionally unavailable that they might as well have been on another continent.

I felt my heartbeat beginning to speed up. I needed to get my parents off of my mind.

"Well," Jaebum stopped, breaking the silence.