CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jin sends me home with a basket full of fruits, fancy breads, delectible looking cheeses, and genuine sympathy for my plight. Despite the news he'd delivered, I could tell that it wasn't done out of spite.
Rather, Jin is a very kind man.
By the time I reach home it is only four in the afternoon, and yet I feel as if I've been awake for years. My eyes hurt, my brain and my throat hurts too, and all I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep everything away. I place the ridiculously large basket down on the dining table, and stumble towards my bedroom sluggishly.
Lifelessly, I change into my pajamas, and then crawl into bed.
I close my eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in my skull as I also try not to start crying again. This is embarrassing, it shouldn't be this big of a deal.
But it is.
"Honestly, " I tell myself silently as I pass into the world of dreams, "it's probably better this way."
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The next few days of work pass like a blur, and I fall mercifully back into my dull and steady routine. My coworkers have all expressed amazement at my newfound zeal for paperwork. It's probably been weeks since I spoke to anyone, now that I truly think about it.
I've received more than a few texts, and responded courteously to each, but I'll admit that I haven't talked to either of the major offenders to my privacy.
I think Jeonguk is a little upset, though I've tried to assure him that I'm just very busy. He's offered to come take me to lunch multiple times, but I haven't been ready to face him.
I'm incredibly torn up about what happened to his parents, and I feel so bad for Jeonguk. I don't even know what to say, but I know exactly how I shouldn't be feeling.
I feel like a horrible human being.
So, I've thrown myself into work.
As I start my trek up the stairs to my apartment door, I fiddle around with the inside of my purse, searching for my keys. I only manage to find them once I am already near my door, just in time to look up and be startled half to death.
Jeonguk is sitting in front of my door, waiting for my arrival it would seem.
Upon sighting my surprised posture, he scrambles upright, flashing me an apologetic look.
"Hey noona!" He exclaims. "Your texts are kinda freaking me out."
He rubs his arm absentmindedly, and I crumble beneath his apologetic countenance.
No matter how I feel, Jeonguk is such a sweet guy, and he doesn't deserve the silent treatment.
"Why don't you come in?" I reply, "I was just gonna heat up some leftovers, but now that you're here, maybe we can make good on that dinner I promised you a couple weeks ago."
He nods, smiling in relief as he follows me into my cramped apartment.
I plop down on my couch, lifelessly exhausted and not even bothered in the slightest as to where Jeonguk is going to sit. Just for today, if he's truly a friend, he can find his own seating.
And he does.
On the floor just beside my head.
"Are you okay noona?" He asks quietly. "You look exhausted."
"I am, " I sigh. "Work's been pretty stressful since we last talked."
I chuckle, what is meant to come out light and heartfelt sounding out far more darkly than I'd intended as I feel fingers wrap around my hand, the one that had been previously hanging limply and to the ground.
"You should really come out to eat with me for lunch more often, " he frowns, "a couple of my brothers have been dying to meet you, and they won't get off my back about it."
I inwardly flinch, again catching his displeasure for the situation at hand.
"Maybe tomorrow, " I reply autonomously, not fully into the conversation at this point.
I close my eyes, brain to eager for sleep to heed my feeble protests, and it feels as if my eyes have been closed for only a moment.
But when I open them once more, Jeonguk is snoring lightly, slumbering peacefully on my recliner. At some point, he seems to have tucked a light quilt about me. I can't help the tender affection that rises in my heart as I realize he must have fallen asleep after tucking me in.
His uniform is slightly tousled from sleeping on my armchair, and his tie has come partially undone. I grin childishly, taking in his dishevelled appearance.
I try to stand quietly so that I don't wake him. After all, from my windows come no light, and I realize it must be near midnight. Unfortunately, he wakes just as I attempt to pass him. His hand shoots out and grand my wrist firmly.
"Where are you going noona?" He mumbles sleepily.
"I just have to use the restroom, " I tell him softly, easing his hand back to his side.
I eye my now empty couch, and the wheels begin turning in my head.
I'm sure that Jeonguk would sleep much more comfortably on the couch. I could quietly slip into my bedroom for the remainder of the night if he'ssed out cold by the time I get done with the restroom.
And he seems to be in a semi lucid state, perhaps he could walk to the couch with a little support.
I manage to get him to stand, though it required massive amount of heaving on my side. I grunt under his weight, this boy is heavy!
We stumble together to the couch, and I thank my lucky stars that it isn't even very far away. A few steps at best.
I push Jeonguk into the couch, grinning with success as he falls onto the thing. He's still out like a light.
On tipped toes, I shuffle soundlessly closer to the bathroom to handle my business. I'm suddenly glad I fixed the hinges last week as I shut the door carefully, and take a deep breath.
And when I emerge once more, I can hear his soft snoring and I smile softly.
I shuck my clothes eagerly, and then pull one of my favorite baggy T-shirts from the dresser. It just happens to be one of a few shirts my dad left behind, and it still swallows me whole.
I succumb to a sleepy hazy as I crawl into my bed, the sudden warmth of it like an irresistible siren's song. I drift back and forth between the land of the conscious, and the land of the dreaming, until I can no longer tell how much time has passed or whether I am asleep or awake.
But I assume I must be finally dreaming when I feel the bed shift just behind me with the weight of someone else's body. And when I feel a warm pair of arms wrap around me, strong and sweet, I can only sigh contentedly.
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