Til Debt Do Us Part

012

Jimin asked me out for a dinner.

At first, I thought that he wanted me to cook his dinner that day too and I wanted to refuse but then, he explained that it was a family dinner and saying no was not an option since it was his father who asked for me.

I put on the best dress that I could find in my closet and fixed myself in the best manner I could. It was nothing near the way that Sooyoung had dolled me up, but it was decent enough, in my opinion.

When the doorbell rang, I picked up my bag, expecting to see Jimin.

But it was Jungkook whom I found waiting on the other side.

I wanted to bombard him with hateful words again, just seeing him in front of my door. But then, I tried to remember Sooyoung's suggestion the other day.

Be casual. Don't let him know how much his actions affect you. Play it cool.

"Hey," I instead greeted him.

"Hey," he replied back, clearly flabbergasted by the way I smiled at him or probably, the way I looked that night.

"Need anything?" I asked, "Garlic? Onions?"

Jungkook chuckled, "Really? That's your guess why I'm here?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "Neighbors usually borrow kitchen stuff from each other."

"Neighbors," he repeated, and there was a contended smile in his lips – as if I came up with the safest label for the two of us. Then he clarified, "I'm actually here to apologize for the other day."

"I shouldn't have..." Jungkook started but he took a long pause.

Then, I knew that he was not certain what he did wrong, but he wanted to appease me.

Just like the old times, he didn't want me to stay angry at him for long, so he'd say sorry even if he knows he did nothing wrong.

But I've already been angry at him for years. There's no way one word could simply change that.

"It's okay," I cut him off even before he could continue his sentence. Then I timidly beamed as I assured him, "I've almost forgotten about it, anyway."

Ha. I'm a liar too.

There's not a single moment I've spent with Jungkook that I have forgotten – not the smallest things, and certainly not the argument we had just the other day.

He released a breath and nodded to himself. Somehow, I knew that he understood that I didn't want to talk about it. Whether I accepted his apology or not was irrelevant. Digging a topic I didn't like would just put us into another argument.

"Going out?" he asked, clearly redirecting the conversation.

As if on cue, I found Jimin walking towards both of us.

"Yes," I told Jungkook before pointing to Jimin, "And my fetch's here. Got to go, Jungkook. See you around."

Jimin furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of the two of us but then, I glared at him, signaling him to just keep his mouth shut. I glanced back at Jungkook to bid farewell.

"Yes. See you around, neighbor," Jungkook waved back.

I then dragged Jimin away even before the situation gets any worse. However, as I expected, Jimin still asked me about it – and that's as soon as we both entered his car.

"He's your new neighbor?" Jimin asked but it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes," I answered, "He moved in just the other day. His work's not that far, that's why."