Mina
Normally, if I were to wake up, open my eyes, and see an angry man staring me down from a bedroom doorway, I might scream. I might throw things. I might run to the bathroom and lock myself inside.
I don’t do any of these things, though.
I stare back, because I’m confused about how this is the same guy who was passed out drunk in the hallway. How is this the same guy who cried himself to sleep last night?
This guy is intimidating. This guy is angry. This guy is watching me like I should be giving him an apology or explaining myself.
“What happened to my hand, Mina?”
I pull the covers over my head.
“Lock the front door on your way out,” I say.
“Where’s my phone?”
He is standing in the doorway, rudely demanding things without even acknowledging the fact that I helped him last night. I’d like to know where my Thank you is. He’s too worried about his hand. And his phone, apparently.
I toss the covers off and stand up, then walk to the door and meet his gaze. “Do me a favor and take a step back.”
Surprisingly, he does. I keep my eyes
locked with his until the bedroom door slams in his face and I’m looking at the back of the door. I smile and walk back to my bed. I lie down and pull the covers over my head.
I win.
Have I mentioned I’m not much of a morning person?
The door opens again.
Flies open.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he yells.
I groan, then sit up on the bed and look at him. He’s standing in the doorway once again, still looking at me like I owe him something.
“You!” I yell back.
He looks genuinely shocked at my harsh response, which kind of makes me feel bad. But he’s the one being the jerk!
I think.
He started it.
I think.
He eyes me hard for a few seconds, then tilts his head slightly forward and arches an eyebrow.
“Did we . . .” He motions his finger back and forth between us. “Did we hook up last night? Is that why you’re pissed?”
I laugh when my initial thoughts are confirmed.
He’s being the jerk.
I open my mouth to respond but am cut off by the sound of the apartment door closing and Jeongyeon's voice yelling out.
“Mina?”
I immediately jump up and rush to the door, but Chaeyoung is still blocking the doorway, glaring at me, expecting a response to his question. I look him straight in the eyes to give him an answer, but his eyes catch me off guard for a short moment.
They are the clearest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Not at all the heavy-lidded, bloodshot eyes from last night. His eyes are so light blue they’re almost colorless. I continue to stare at them, half expecting to see waves.
He blinks, and it immediately pulls me away from my thoughts.
“Not sure if you can call what we did hooking up,” I whisper.
I stare at him, waiting for him to move out of my way.
I don’t back down, and neither of us breaks eye contact when he steps out of my way and allows me to pass him. Jeongyeon is rounding the hallway when I exit my room. He glances back and forth between me and Chaeyoung.
“Hey, Sis,” he says, pulling me in for a hug.
I haven’t seen him in almost six months. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how much you miss people until you see them again. That’s not the case with Jeongyeon. I always miss him.
Jeongyeon releases me and pulls at a strand of my hair. “It’s longer,” he says. “I like it.”
This may be the longest we’ve gone without seeing each other. I reach up and flick the hair hanging across his forehead. “So is yours,” I say. “And I don’t like it.”I smile to let him know I’m kidding.
Jeongyeon acknowledges Chaeyoung with a nod of his head. “Hey, man. Rough night?” He asks the question with a laugh, as he knows exactly what kind of night Chaeyoung had last night.
Chaeyoung walks past both of us. “I don’t know,” he says in response. “I don’t remember it.” He walks into the kitchen and opens a cabinet, retrieving a cup like he’s comfortable enough here to do so.
I don’t like that.
I don’t like comfortable Chaeyoung. He opens another cabinet and takes out a bottle of aspirin, fills his cup with water, and pops two of the aspirin into his mouth.
“Did you get all your stuff brought up?” jeongyeon asks me.
“Nope,” I say, glancing at Chaeyoung when I respond. “I was kind of preoccupied with your neighbor most of the night.”
He nervously clears his throat as he washes the glass and places it back in the cabinet. His discomfort with his lapse in memory makes me laugh. I like that he has no idea what happened last night. I even kind of like that the thought of being with me seems to unnerve him. I might keep this façade going for a while for my own sick enjoyment.
Jeongyeon looks at me as if he knows what I’m trying to pull. Chaeyoung steps out of the kitchen and glances my way, then looks back to jeongyeon.
“I would have gone back to my place by now, but I can’t find my keys. You have my spare set?”
Jeongyeon nods and walks to a drawer in the kitchen. He opens it, grabs a key, and tosses it to Chaeyoung.
