w. Hobinamu
02: Introduction, Development, Conclusion, Ten Thousand Won
"..Want to come in?"
"... ..."
A heavy silence filled the hallway after the heroine's timid words. Jeongguk, who had been standing blankly, stared down at her, soon broke into a silent laugh. It seemed almost mocking.
"Did you just wash your hair?"
".. Huh..?"
"water"
Water? Following Jungkook's words, the female protagonist followed his gaze and looked at the floor. Drip drip drip. Water was dripping from the tips of her hair, which had seemed completely dry. One or two scattered drops were dragged into the puddle. The female protagonist, who seemed to understand Jungkook's words, smiled awkwardly and scratched her arm. It was an awkward gesture, born of awkwardness.
"Uh... I just closed it, but it looks like it's not completely dry."
"Did you know I was coming?"
".. no?"
"No-"
Anyone could tell he'd just wrapped it in a hurry, not even a few days ago. "Mumbling to himself," Jungkook muttered, a bit loudly, before taking off his shoes and avoiding Yeoju as he entered the house. The several boxes that had been hidden behind Jungkook now took up space in the hallway. A strange, unpleasant feeling crept up in Yeoju. Yeoju's lips curled into a pout.
[ My Princess ]
"no"
"... why"
"It's my house."
"...my house..?"
"huh."
My house..? It's my Kim Yeo-joo's house, no, I'm being generous and saying it's Jeon Jung-kook and Kim Yeo-joo's house is too much to ask. My house? Why is this house Jeon Jung-kook's house? Yeo-joo's eyebrows twitched, as she almost nodded in agreement at the thought. Is it enough if you're a little taller and stronger than me? A man and a woman live together and you don't even set a single rule? Yeo-joo's lips pursed again. Her brows furrowed, and a frown formed on her face.
"Why are you sticking out your lips?"
"... No, a little... I don't think that's right... Come on..."
"What?"
"Your house... This isn't your house, it's my house..."
"I live there too. It can be your house or mine."
"... right.."
It's a pretty spacious house for living alone, but... Jungkook, who sometimes sits on the soft sofa for the female lead when the bed is uncomfortable, looks up at the female lead who is sitting awkwardly and smiles. Then that's fine. Do you have ramen? Perhaps because he looks more comfortable on the sofa than the owner of the house, the female lead who had been gaping at the camera loses her expression without being able to say anything in response. Irritation clogs his throat. Seriously, if you catch me doing just one thing, I'll kick you out of the house. The female lead, who secretly clenches her fist, adds a stiff answer to Jungkook's question.
"...There isn't any?"
"If you're going to lie, you have to believe it
Shouldn't it be made?"
"Really... there isn't any?"
"If you have it, ten thousand won."
"What? No, wait a minute..!"
Jungkook suddenly gets up from the sofa, strides towards the window and picks up a bag of ramen sitting on the shelf. The woman who had been following behind Jungkook changes her expression into one of shock. I... No, why is that over there? The woman who clenched her molars and carefully watched Jungkook's reaction, and Jungkook, who had been fiddling with the bag of ramen, snickers as if he finds it amusing and looks down at her. The woman's gaze wanders into space. If she could find even a speck of dust, she would have at least one place to look, but the clean house is annoying to the point of being annoying.
"Ten thousand won."
".. huh?"
"I promised to give you ten thousand won if I had it."
"That's you..!"
"You don't want to give it to me? Then boil me some ramen instead."
"...I'd rather give you ten thousand won."
"Then let's do that."
"... ..."
The female protagonist, her molars clenched as if there was something to chew between them, enters her room with timid steps. If she couldn't even boil ramen, she would be less angry, but the sound of someone filling a pot with water, finding something so easy, is etched into her ears. Ah, really, this guy, ahh..! The female protagonist, who wants to jump out the window at any moment, replaces the feeling with a kick in the air and takes ten thousand won out of her wallet. It was the first time that the ten thousand won in her trembling hands felt so pitiful.
"... this"
"He really gave it to me."
"... ..."
"Do you want to eat ramen too?"
".. Okay,"
Gulp-.
"... ..."
"I heard the ship is not full?"
"...If you could boil it for me... I'd appreciate it..."
Jungkook, who had casually stuffed 10,000 won into his pocket, chuckled silently as he watched Yeoju's ears gradually redden. "What the heck? This is so fucking funny." Jungkook ripped open another ramen packet and glanced at Yeoju, who was weakly heading to the sofa, and chuckled. "Oh, so funny." Just before the water boiled, a gurgling sound strangely lingered in Jungkook's quiet ears.
[ My Princess ]
"It's delicious"
"... huh."
A sizzling ramen broth splashed into a silence even more suffocating than when they first met. In a sizzling pot on a desk in the center of the living room, two ramen noodles were boiling deliciously, dipping between chopsticks. I tried to break the awkward atmosphere by turning on the TV, but Yeo-ju still couldn't tell if the ramen was going up her nose or if she was holding a chopstick or a spoon. Despite this, Jeong-guk kept talking to her. He looked like he'd be expressionless even after beating someone up, but why did he talk so much?
"You cook dinner tomorrow."
".. Yeah.. Huh..? What?"
"I want you to cook for me tomorrow."
"..Why me..?"
"... ..."
Jungkook, who had been swallowing the ramen he was eating so well, abruptly cut it off with his teeth and gently closed his wide eyes with his eyelids. The same expression he had when he looked down at Yeoju indifferently from the hallway. Jungkook's chopsticks were placed firmly on the desk. "Thump." Yeoju, who flinched at the sound of chopsticks hitting the desk, followed Jungkook and cut the ramen. And then...
"Why me?"
"... No... I..."
Once again, the sight of her watching Jeongguk's reaction is pitiful, cowering like a wet rat. Jeongguk, with that indifferent expression, quirks an eyebrow, then closes his mouth like someone waiting for the reflection of a child who has done wrong. The female protagonist, who had been squirming, finally opens her mouth with difficulty.
".. why do I.. like the persimmon.. and you too.."
"... Phew."
"... ...."
"What, wedge potatoes?"
"... ..."
The female protagonist swallows the small amount of ramen left in her mouth and swirls her chopsticks around the bowl.
"..what should I eat for dinner tomorrow?"
"If there's anything you want to eat, can you make it for me?"
"...Let's order... Jajangmyeon..."
"I hate Jjajangmyeon."
"... ..."
"Just boil some ramen for me too."
".. Uh.. okay.."
If it's not as tasty as what I made, 10,000 won. Just as her stuffy chest was about to feel a little better, "10,000 won." The words suddenly fell from her lips, and Yeo-ju's heart clenched again. It was just words, but it felt like my eardrums had been hit hard. Am I going to die from this stuffiness? Yeo-ju, whose stomach had been bloated like a stool, now felt like a hole was being ripped out, nodded with a darkened expression. Even with the ramen in front of her, it wasn't easy to get full. For some reason, Yeo-ju comforted herself inwardly and stuffed the ramen into her mouth again.
[ My Princess ]
After finishing his ramen, Jungkook opened the boxes piled up in the hallway and started taking out his belongings. He decided to use the room where he had a bit of clutter piled up, including books he'd finished, a fan, tissues, and other things he needed or wanted to throw away. ...I guess I don't need to clean it up. The woman, who was sitting on the small sofa scrolling through her phone, occasionally followed Jungkook's gaze.
"hello."
Jungkook, who was walking between his room and the front door, stopped in his tracks when his phone vibrated and he answered it. The female protagonist, who had been glancing at Jungkook, quickly lowered her gaze to the phone.
"huh."
"huh."
"... huh."
Since she had practically nothing to do and was just going back and forth between the home screen and the lock screen, the female lead's attention was naturally focused on Jungkook's conversation. What kind of conversation is there that only has a response..? The female lead, who almost looked at Jungkook, focused more on the sound with question marks all over her face. Thump. Hey. The female lead, who even stopped her fingers and focused, became interested in the changed conversation. Jungkook was reflected on the turned-off phone screen.
"..what are you doing."
"... huh?"
"Why is there no answer?"
"..did you call me?"
"Yeah. I just called you."
"ah..."
"It wasn't the call, it was you calling me," Yeoju muttered to herself, awkwardly raising the corners of her lips as if embarrassed. "Don't even call me?" Jeongguk frowned at her strangely changed expression and put his phone back in his pocket. "Oh, that's not what I meant." Yeoju, who realized too late that the corners of her lips were a mistake, muttered quietly.
"No, not that."
"Yeah.. but why did you call..?"
"Oh, Park Jimin is coming in a bit."
"..Who is Park Jimin?"
"my friend."
"....?"