A hazy mind
Kim Taehyung and I arrived at the large supermarket we often visited in front of our house. We got out of the car, pulled our cart, and rode the escalator to the basement level, where the grocery section was located. Of course, it was his job to pull the cart. He naturally leaned his arm against the handrail, leaning his weight against it. He looked at me and opened his mouth.I want to eat kimchi stew.
He spoke such insignificant words with such a solemn expression that I flinched for a moment. I thought I was going to get in trouble.
“Should I make you some kimchi stew?”
"huh."
“You can’t eat spicy food.”
“Just. I suddenly want to eat.”
Okay, for now. We've got kimchi at home, so let's buy some meat first. Since we both enjoy porridge, we both headed in the same direction as soon as we got off the escalator. We understood each other without even speaking :)
“This would be better for soup.”
Since then, thanks to Kim Taehyung, who meticulously selects and puts things in his cart, my workload has been cut in half. Pushing the cart, selecting ingredients, calculating prices wisely… At this point, I was dragged along without even knowing it.
We bought all the ingredients for kimchi stew… and even some snacks we wanted to eat. The alcohol, which was the original reason we came here, went straight into the cart.
“There are too many?”
“What are you talking about? This much is enough for a week.”
Oh, this drunkard. He must have been shaking his head and looking through his cart again. Then, something he'd forgotten came to mind and he exclaimed, "Ah!" My beloved enoki mushrooms. They're a mushroom I always add to kimchi stew, but somehow they felt empty.
“Here it is. I’ll get it.”
“You can go together.”
“No, no. There’s a checkout counter. I’ll go and get back quickly.”
With those words of encouragement, I quickly headed to the vegetable section. With the straps draping over my shoulders, I simply held my bag close to my chest and hurried along. Once I finally saw the vegetables, I began searching for enoki mushrooms in the long display cases.
I picked up a fresh-looking item and cradled it in my arms, along with my bag. As I was about to look away, wondering if there was anything else I could buy, I heard a familiar voice from somewhere.Whatever you want to eat, I'll make it for you.
"No way," I thought. In that brief moment, the word "no way" echoed in my head over and over again. And the moment that thought turned into certainty, I slowly turned around. While I hoped it wasn't true, I already knew.
“Cheer up- Yeojin, I’m sorry…”
I saw you, smiling affectionately at another woman at the display case across the street. And then, before long, our eyes met, and your expression became uncontrollable. You seemed to be trying to act indifferent, but I could see it. You were utterly flustered. Yes, that's how you should react. You should be concerned about me.
I stood silently from afar, watching you until you did something. It felt like the world had stopped. We broke up because I knew you had another woman, but facing that truth… it was so sad.
What's even more bizarre is that you, like that, walked up to me. You said something to the woman next to you, sent her off somewhere, and then you were walking towards me. It was obvious to me that I was still a joke to you. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to look me in the eye with such confidence, with such a confident expression.
Was I just staring at him, eyes filled with contempt, unable to say anything, as he approached me? When the figure of the person I so resented finally entered my field of vision, it was once again obscured by something black.
Then, my trembling hands were enveloped in warmth. Belatedly, I realized that the warmth belonged to someone else's hand. Slowly, I raised my head, and what filled my vision was a familiar back. A jacket of familiar material...It was Kim Taehyung.I held his hand with a sense of relief that I couldn't explain.
“I have something to talk about, so please.”
“What else do you want to talk about with him?”
Jeon Jungkook's face was nowhere to be seen. He was just behind Kim Taehyung, clutching his hand tightly and staring at the floor. The moment I saw him, tears threatened to burst forth, and I couldn't bring myself to raise my head. I hated the idea of staying here for even a minute longer, so I grabbed Taehyung's collar and gently shook him repeatedly. "Let's go now."
As expected, Kim Taehyung turned around and stared at me, as if he understood what I meant. He naturally grabbed my shoulders and started walking, telling me not to look.
-🤍-
After many twists and turns, we finally arrived home. We set our heavy shopping bags down on the kitchen table and decided to wash up first. All the way back to the car, I tried to pretend the supermarket incident never happened, rambling nonsense to the stern Kim Taehyung. My throat was starting to hurt a little.
“…Wash up quickly and come out!”
The feeling is strange, but the meaning is literal. You have to eat quickly.Because. It's already past mealtimeIt's liver.
He nodded slightly at my words, packed his pajamas, and went into the bathroom in his room. Left alone in the living room, I stood there, dazed, for no reason. When I met that kid at the mart earlier… he suddenly appeared. Come to think of it, Kim Taehyung, who's not really Hong Gildong. Whenever I looked for you, you'd always be right in front of me.
With so many thoughts running through my head, I decided to get the ingredients out before I went to wash up. It was a chance to organize my thoughts, and since it was cold, I was feeling lazy (lol). I also took out the leftover tofu from last time I had in the fridge… and then I started putting away the alcohol I bought today. Then, unable to resist the temptation, I opened a can.
I took a sip, trying to keep the sound as quiet as possible. Ugh, it was hard to recall the events of earlier while sober. It was a day when I particularly wanted a beer, both from what had happened this afternoon and earlier. Just standing there, quietly thinking…
“What? Are you drinking it alone like that?”
My can of beer was snatched away helplessly by him. I just watched it touch his lower lip. Coming to my senses, I decided I should go wash up. Kim Taehyung, who was watching me from the side, nagged me, asking if I'd been drinking alone without washing up.
Meanwhile, something caught my eye: water dripping onto the floor, as if she hadn't even dried her hair. I, too, felt the moment to nitpick and say something. "You didn't even shake your hair before you came out, did you?" But she didn't listen to a word I said. She was just busy supporting me.
“Go quickly-“
“Yeah~ Then you and that tofu-“
“Okay. I’ll take care of everything.”
“So, I cut up some mushrooms and kimchi in the fridge too…”
“Yes, I understand.”