"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up."

-Neil Gaiman-
~~~~~

"How is it?" Soomin asked as she saw the fork go into her mom's mouth. There was a long silence before her mom put the fork back and reached into her pajama pocket, searching for something without a word.

"Here, take it."

"Wh- I'm not asking for money."

"Just take it. His mom will surely sue me if he dies because of this... thing."

"Mom!"

"I know you ran out of cash to buy him the usual breakfast. That's why you tried to make it yourself."

Why did she always know everything? She was silently whining as she secretly rolled her eyes.

Today was the tenth day of Soomin's breakfast delivery service, and it was the day when her wallet finally betrayed her.

She had no money left.

"Is it that bad?" she defeatedly asked while poking the food with the fork.

"It was awful. This omelet is not even edible," said Mrs. Kim while crunching her nose, recalling the taste of it.

"Thank you for the honest feedback, Mrs. Kim," she pouted and heaved a deep sigh while staring at the plate before throwing the food into the trash bin.

Sigh. "Honey, you know that there is definitely an easier and cheaper way to express your feelings. Why don't you just try it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Words. Use them. Talk to him. It's free. You don't need to pay for it."

I know. I want to. But I'm afraid of what he's gonna say, she thought.

"I'll give it back when I get my part-time salary at the end of this month."

She took the cash as she thanked her mom and grabbed her hoodie before leaving the kitchen.

"And it's pancake, by the way," she added.

~~~~

"Hah! See?! I told you that it's a pancake!"

"How on earth did you call that thing a pancake?! Unbelievable!"

Laughing victoriously while rolling around on the wide couch placed in the pink room, Namjoon tried his best to catch his breath as Seokjin sulked in the corner of the room. They had been arguing about it since Soomin decided to throw herself into the kitchen early this morning.

Yes, they were watching her from above. In fact, Namjoon would break into Seokjin's place right away when he received a notification of Soomin's activity related to Min Yoongi.

Why? Only to watch it through the mirror.

Kim Namjoon was addicted. He was addicted to the romantic yet problematic variety show produced by the one and only Kim Seokjin.

Yet, Seokjin was not bothered at all by Namjoon's lately bizarre behavior because he needed it. Namjoon needed to be contaminated by those tingling feelings so he would not lose his sanity in the world that he had to deal with every second of his immortal life.

His life was tense and boring. Well, what could people expect from the life of the descendants of the fortune God in war and battles, which was also associated with authority and dignity?

"Dude, something is gonna happen," Namjoon pointed to the mirror as Seokjin walked across the room to get a better look at it.

"Ah... So, this is what you want, Min Yoongi..." Seokjin heaved a deep sigh as he stared at the mirror.

~~~~

"Darn, I'm going to be late!" Soomin rushed out of the bus station towards Min's gate, tightly clutching the paper bag in her right hand while glancing at the watch on her left hand.

"..I was late.." she muttered as she arrived at the house, ten minutes behind Yoongi's usual departure schedule.

Trying to catch her breath, Soomin leaned tiredly against the closed gate, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of her hoodie. She was drenched in sweat. Part of her was relieved that she didn't have to face Yoongi looking like a mess.

"You're late."

She blinked. And blinked again.
There stood Yoongi, looking flawless in front of her. The fresh, minty scent of his perfume hit her sweaty nose, snapping her out of her daze in an instant. Gulping, she tried to speak, shifting herself to create some distance between them.

How did I forget to brush my teeth this morning?! Oh Lord, do you hate me this much?

"Uh, sorry," she stammered, handing him the paper bag while awkwardly avoiding eye contact. She could hear Yoongi sigh as he took the bag. Cursing the awkward tension between them, Soomin wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

For the sake of all the angels in heaven, please save me from this situation.

"Thank you."

"Huh?" Soomin lifted her head in shock. She didn't expect him to say that, especially not this morning when she looked like a muddy frog.

"Whatever your intention is, I appreciate this. But I think today is the last."

He hates it. He hates me.

"Tonight, I'm moving to Seoul."

He hates me.

****