Twenty Three || Date Yourself

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<<it's been awhile, so go back and read the previous chapter if you need a refresher!>> 

"What the hell  does that mean?" 

Jung-mo rolls his eyes at you as he shoves more noodles into his mouth. 

"What do you think it means, idiot?" he says with his mouth full. "You treat yourself like the person you're dating. I'm quite good at it." 

"How do you do that?" 

"Treat yourself." He puts more  food into his mouth before he continues speaking. Apparently, Lee Jung-mo has a really bad habit of talking with his mouth full. But you don't seem to mind it in the moment. "You take yourself out on dates," he continues, "compliment yourself, love yourself. All that sappy stuff. It's not that bad." 

You pause, thinking on the odd concept. 

"Compliment yourself?" you ask, taking a bite of your own food. 

"Yeah. There's, like, affirmations and stuff that you can do online. There's tons of stuff for self empowerment these days." 

"I don't know. It doesn't seem like it would work. It sounds weird." 

"I already told you, it's not that bad. If anything, it's better because you can't cheat on yourself. You'll never be cheated on again!" 

You roll your eyes and return your attention to your food. You don't really know when, or exactly why, you became friends with Jung-mo. Maybe it was because of Jimin's distance, maybe the fact that neither of you had any real  friends outside of the one you had shared. All you know is that he makes a pretty good friend. 

"Here, look," he says, pulling out his phone and turning it to you. "There's this program that my ex used from Unicef. It's made by that professional life coach, Kim Namjoon?" 

You had heard the name before, everyone has heard the name Kim Namjoon. The man was all over the news, presenting big speeches, donating big  money, and traveling and doing motivational tours all over the country and the world. It's hard to miss Kim Namjoon, Korea's pride. 

"He made this program, designed for all different kinds of mental health issues, especially to help people with their self love," Jung-mo continues. "It's just this one time a day video series he calls 'The Journey.' And there's a progress diary, a personal counselor, an accountability monitor, all sorts of stuff." 

Your eyes widen. "That must've coat a fortune to make." 

Jung-mo shrugs. "Well, he's rich and handsome, so there aren't many things standing in the way of him. He stole my girlfriend, you know." 

Your head cocks at that statement and you sputter out a laugh. "I'm sorry, what?" 

"My ex girlfriend! She went to this weekend conference of his with a meet and greet and all. Next thing I know, she's coming back to me to dump me. Then she's moved in with him and now they're married. I swear, it all happened within the year." 

You can't help but laugh at his story. 

"Wow, thanks for the support, Y/n," he mumbles. 

You pat his shoulder. "You're right, you're right. I'm sorry, Jung-mo." 

"Okay, but seriously, sign up for this app," he says. "It's great. Even I can admit that the man's a genius." 

"That's really sweet of you to think of me, Jung-mo, but I don't need an app for anything." You stir around your bowl of noodles, poking around some of the other foods in the broth. 

While Jung-mo simply stares at you. 

"Need I remind you of a month ago when you broke down on my couch?" he says plainly. "It's not gonna hurt you, okay? Worst thing that could happen is nothing changes." 

"You said it's expensive." Priorities first. 

"D-did I say that?" Jung-mo squeaks out, scratching the back of his neck. "I mean, it's a little on the higher side, but it's so good! I'll split it with you! No need to worry." 

"How much is it, Lee Jung-mo?" 

"Technically, it's three hundred sixty. For the whole year." 

You choke on air and your brows nearly fly off of your face. "Are you kidding me right now? Doesn't this guy have enough money?" 

"Yeah, no kidding! He's too busy stealing from all the sad people like you to realize that most sad people, like you, are poor! Oh my God, wait, that's just like you!" 

"Thanks," you mutter. "You're paying for the first eight months." 

"Whyyyyyyyyyyy..." he whines pathetically. 

"If it goes well, I'll pay for the rest." 

He sighs shoving his hand out toward you aggressively. "Okay, fine. Deal." 

So, you shake on it. You install the app, Jung-mo enters his credit card number secretly, and you sign up. 

"Put me in as your accountability monitor," he says. 

You roll you eyes. "I don't need you, I'm a grown adult. I can do this myself!" 

"You know, you've been saying that a lot lately, but I haven't seen you doing anything  yet." 

The rules for the accountability monitor are too strict in your mind. The app texts him to call you at certain times to make sure you've done your daily requirements, then again later if you still haven't logged into the app. He'll keep calling you until you finally do everything the app tells you. You're pretty sure he only wanted you to sign him up so he could take away your freedom. 

"Are you sure all this is worth it?" you ask you you complete the brief quiz. The screen flashes a colorful Congratulations!  and you furrow your brows in doubt. 

"Of course it's worth it," Jung-mo says obviously. "Even if you walk out of this just a little happier, doesn't that make it all worth it?" 

You stare at your phone that tells you to wait for your counselor to connect. "I mean, I guess so." 

"Just wait, Y/n," Jung-mo says, dropping an arm around your shoulders. "Eight months of this, and you'll be back to your previously happy self. It'll all work out beautifully, just you wait."

oh my goodness gracious has it been a long time

sorry this chapter is such a filler, but it's a good break after all that sadness we've had for the last like, four chapters or something. 

need a recap? 

ada and jimin have a moment in which ada opens up to him about her abusive relationship. y/n goes to jimin's to try and see him on new year's day, only to leave once seeing ada at the door instead of him. she goes to chan-woo's place, for a reason she can't really place, and leaves there for jung-mo's house, where she confides in him about everything she's been feeling and struggling with. he encourages her to try finding her own happiness and security, and now we're here :) 

sorry it's been LITERALLY two months since an update. i don't remember if i've talked about it already, but i hit a really hard wall with this book. 

are you excited it's finally back?? i missed her :,)

thank you for being patient with me, i love you guys

1154 words

cay💕 

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