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Chapter 2: Roommate Wanted – October 23 – November 21, 2021

She was embarrassed.  

Embarrassed that she’d blubbered like a baby in front of him.  Gorgeous man that he was.

Embarrassed that she’d spilled all her pain into his lap that night and then clung to him like a toddler.

So, despite having his number, she didn’t call him.  

Four weeks passed.  

—

But he had changed her life.  She applied for every open job in her appa’s company.  Every single job that was either a step up or a lateral move.  She went to several interviews.  She was turned down every time.  That’s when she decided that she needed to figure out a plan for her life.  She needed to find a roommate.  And apply for as many jobs as she could…outside of her father’s company.

But finding a roommate was proving to be a challenge.

—

“Seokie?  Where’s your girlfriend?”

“We broke up.”

Yunyeong frowned. “Why?”

“So I could concentrate on finishing my last semester in college.”

“You broke up with her over schoolwork?”

He sighed.  “I didn’t break up with her.”  He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.  “I took her home the night of Hobi’s wedding, and she never called me.  End of story.  I’m clearly not her type.”

She furrowed her brow.  “But you guys were so cute together.  And obviously in love.  Why would she spend two months with a guy who wasn’t her type?”

He set his glasses back over the bridge of his nose.  “Yuni.  I have a confession to make.”

She quirked a brown eyebrow at him.  “What is it?”

“We didn’t date for two months.  I was just tired of Yunseong ragging on me to get a girlfriend.  Heejin’s car broke down on the way to the wedding.  I rescued her and took her to the wedding.”

“But,” she replied, obviously confused, “you were holding her hand.  And laughing together.  Like you were old friends.”

His face fell.  “I thought so too.  But…I guess I was wrong.  I gave her my number, but…she never called me.”

“Maybe she lost it.”

“She knows where I live.”

“So…that’s it?  You’re not going to fight for her?”

He shrugged.  “I don’t exactly know how to get a hold of her.”

“Sure you do.”

Perplexed, he furrowed his brow at her.

“Isn’t she Hobi’s friend?  He’s sure to have her phone number.”

That was probably true.  But Yunseok wasn’t about to bug a girl who was avoiding him.

—

She was late.  Again.  Her car had broken down.  Three times this past week.  And again, right now.  Thankfully, she wasn’t on the freeway.  Still, this was a busy street, and her car had stalled in the middle of the street at the stoplight.  

She knew that remaining in her vehicle was a bad idea.  She turned on her hazard lights and prepared to venture out into traffic.  When the light turned red, she opened her door and stepped out.  Carefully.  Tentatively.  Fearfully.

That’s when Yunseok drove past her.  Going the other way.  But he didn’t miss the look of pure terror on her face.  Or the fact that she was suddenly frozen in the middle of the street.  He found a parking space as quickly as possible and ran down the sidewalk towards her.  

When he reached the crosswalk, he headed into it as soon as the road was clear.  He paid no attention whatsoever to the traffic light.  When he reached her side, she was standing next to her car, staring off into space.  She looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Heejin,” he called to her.  “I’m here.  Please.  Come with me.”

Then his hand was engulfing hers.  Its warmth broke through her reverie.  She glanced down at the strong, slender fingers embracing her own, and she stifled a sob suddenly.  He tugged on her hand.  She followed him.  All the way to a coffee shop on the corner.  Just a few feet from where her car had stalled.

As they stood in line to order, Yunseok tugged on her hand until she was practically standing on top of him.  He bent his head until his face was near hers.  Then he whispered, “Hello, Heejin.  Are you okay?”

She glanced up at him.  Their eyes sparked as they met.  She realized then, as she stood staring into those gorgeous eyes, how very much she had missed him.

“It’s died four times this week.  I – I can’t drive it anymore.  Today was too much.  Sitting there in the car, I saw that car plow into us again.  Only this time I was in the driver’s seat.  I was the one lying lifeless on the stretcher as the paramedics wheeled me away.  Driving has been a challenge ever since she died.  But this month has tested me beyond my endurance.”

A sob tore loose of her lips, and she stepped forward to lean her head against his chest.  

“I listened to you.  I applied for every job I could.  No one wanted me.  I went to countless interviews.  None chose me.  I have to leave Appa’s company.  Clearly, it’s not a good fit for me…I just wanted him to be proud of me.  Is it too much to ask, Yunseok?”

His free hand, the one not clinging to her hand, came up to embrace the nape of her neck.  He slid his fingers into her hair and cradled the back of her head.  

Then he bent his head and murmured, “Your appa is blind, deaf, and dumb.”

“No.  He had a son who fulfilled all his dreams.  He has no use for a daughter.”  

More tears slid down her cheeks.  What was wrong with her that she was always crying around this man?  And now she was doing it in public.

“Still.  How can he not adore you?  You’re beautiful and brilliant, sweet and funny.  You’re perfect, Heejin.  Don’t pay him any mind.”

She sighed.  “I need to move out.  You were right.  I need to find a job in a different company.  Appa is never going to value me or the effort I put in.”

“His loss, my dear,” he murmured, his breath teasing her ear.  After a moment, he spoke again. “Can I buy you a treat?  And then give you a lift?”

She sighed.  “I’m late for…nothing.  Just headed home to sit on my bed and stare at my wall.  Yunseok, I want to move out, but I need a roommate.  I have no idea where to find one.”

An idea niggled at him.  “Did you know that I’m three weeks from graduating?  And I’ve already landed a job as an architect with an excellent company.  I start working for them on December thirteenth.”  The last part felt like jumping off a bridge.  “And I just so happen to need a roommate.”

—

“Are you suggesting we move in together?” she asked, astounded.

It was an insane idea.  Moving in with a guy she barely knew.  Just to escape from her parents.  And her brother.

But it was Yunseok.

She gazed up at him in shock.

He nodded.  “Mmhmm.  I am.  Would you consider it?  If you need references, I can get you three.  My eomma.  And there’s these two girls I’ve known forever.  We even shared the same womb for a while.”

She giggled.  “Yunseok.”

“What?  I know it must be scary to contemplate moving in with a guy you don’t know.”

It was.  

But…

She was so tempted.

“I’ll think about it.”

“I could give you a ride to work every day.”

Her countenance melted as she peered up at him.  “But you don’t even know where I’m going to work.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yunseok, why are you so nice to me?”

He smiled down at her.  “Didn’t you know?”  He paused.  “You’re adorable.”

But she was pretty sure Yunseok was the adorable one.

—

A few minutes later, after she’d called a tow truck, they were seated at a table while they began to nurse their drinks.  She gazed down at his cookie.  

“Aren’t you going to eat that?”

He looked at her scone.  “I could ask you the same thing.”

She sighed.  “I ordered the wrong thing.  Now I realize what I really wanted was a cookie.”  She was still looking at his.

“Hmm. That’s interesting,” he murmured.

“It is?”  She furrowed her brow at him.  “Why?”

“Because I realized that I really want a scone.  Should we trade?”

“I have a better idea,” she grinned suddenly, and the light of it illuminated her whole face. 

She reached down and broke off a piece of her scone.  Then she smiled up at him and commanded, “Open up.”

He daren’t refuse a command from his superior officer, so he opened his mouth and waited for the sweet morsel.  But it was the brush of her fingers against his lips that he’d really been anticipating.  He enjoyed the cascading tingles that slipped under his skin at that slightest contact.  Not for the first time, he wondered if an atomic bomb would go off if he were to kiss her lips.

His eyes brushed those lips in the next second.  And he realized she still wasn’t eating anything.  He broke off a piece of his cookie and held it up to her mouth.  

With a slight smile crowning his lips, he murmured, “Your turn.”

She gave him a delighted grin right before those lips parted to allow his offering to pass through the gates of her mouth.  He was slightly disappointed that she managed to receive his gift without brushing her lips up against his fingertips.  But he found an excuse to do so himself a moment later.

“Mmm,” he murmured.  “You have a crumb on your lip.”  

Now self-conscious, she grimaced.  And her tongue darted out to moisten said lips in an attempt to relieve them of their tiny burden.  But she’d missed it.  A slow smile stretched across his face.  His hand came up and cupped her cheek.  Startled, she glanced up at him.  Then his thumb brushed the offender off her hallowed lips.

“There you go,” he whispered huskily as he stared down at those twin beauties.

Then his gaze shifted to meet her own.  And she felt all the oxygen stolen from her lungs in that instant.  

Was Yunseok thinking about kissing her?  Or was it just her own imagination?  

Hobi had never looked at her the way that Yunseok was right now.  It was a good thing too, or else she’d never have let him go.  

She blinked and murmured, “Do you have somewhere to be?”

“Be?” he asked blankly.

She nodded as she chewed the cookie.

“Um.  Just a party for my sisters.”

Startled, she responded, “What?”  She sat up straight.  “You’re supposed to be at their party right now?”

“Well, actually, no.  It’s not for them.  It’s for one of their friends.  It’s an early birthday party for Jin.”

Her eyes widened.  “And you’re missing it to sit here with me?”

“Mmhmm.”  He nodded as his eyes caressed hers.  Then a smile graced his lips.  “And to eat that scone in your hand.”  He glanced down at it.

She chuckled breathlessly and held it up towards him.  But instead of taking it, he leaned over and wrapped his mouth around the end of it.  He bit off that end with his teeth before sitting up again.  Chewing.  

Still, his eyes held her own.   And she would have sworn she could feel each beat of her heart over the next several moments.  And possibly heard them too.

“Aren’t you concerned about being late?”

He shrugged.  “No.”

“You really live on your own timetable, don’t you?”

“I’m a fairly solitary creature.”

“Hmm.  I’m not.  I love hanging out with my friends.”

“I like hanging out with you,” he murmured quietly as his eyes continued to tangle with hers.

She furrowed her brow.  “Why?”

“You’re easy on my eyes.”  He cleared his throat and sat up as he glanced at the cookie in his hand.  “And my ears.”  Then his eyes collided with hers again.  “I don’t know.  I just like you.  Immensely.”

A slight blush crept across her cheeks.  She glanced down at the scone in her own hand.  Before absentmindedly biting into it, she admitted sheepishly, “I like you too.”

“Hey,” he responded softly in mock outrage, “I thought you were feeding that scone to me!”

She glanced down at it in shock as though she hadn’t realized she’d taken a bite.  “Oh.  No wonder that bite was so disappointing.  I was looking forward to the bits of chocolate in the cookie.  Instead, I got a mouthful of strawberries.”

“I love a mouth full of strawberries,” he murmured quietly.

Now he was really thinking about kissing her.  To tamp down on that desire that kept increasing every time he looked at her, he distracted himself from her lovely lips by speaking.  

“You love chocolate?”

“Mhm.”

He broke off a big piece of his cookie and handed it to her this time.  She relinquished her scone to him.

“What kind?” he asked as she took a bite of his cookie.

He watched her close her eyes as she bit into it.  Then a grin of immense satisfaction tugged a smile across her face.

“Any kind,” she murmured.  “But especially dark chocolate.  Or, in this case, semi-sweet.  I suppose semi-sweet is my favorite.  I love chocolate chips!”

Then her eyes opened, and she speared him with them.  He took a bite of his scone and smiled at her.  

“Wanna go to a party?”

Her eyes widened.  “Uh.”

“You just said you love to socialize.”

“With people I know,” she clarified.

“You know most of these people.  You’ve met my sisters, Tae, Jungkook…” His lips twitched.  “Besides, the twins are breathing simply to know how our love story is progressing.  Yun has been knitting baby booties at an alarming rate since meeting you.”

She knew he was teasing her.  Still, she couldn’t prevent the heat that spread across her cheeks.  Or the smile that graced her lips.

Maybe because the more time she spent in his company, the more she could see herself with him.

—

She really didn’t have any desire to be parted from him, so she gave in to his request.

“I’ll go with you to Jin’s party, but tell me, what am I getting myself into?  Are we talking eight of us?  Or us and their twenty-seven best friends?”

“Mmm.  Somewhere in between?  Yun and Yuni.  Tae and Jungkook.  Jin and Yura.  Hobi and Minsu.  Jimin and Jumi.  That about sums it up.”

“Hobi and Minsu will be there?”

“Yep.”

“Ok.  I can handle that group.”  She glanced up at him.  “How late are we?”

He peered down at his watch.  “About twenty minutes.”

“Is that all?”

“Mmhmm.  But we have to make a stop on the way.”

“For what?”

“The birthday cake.”

“WHAT?!!”

“Yeah,” he shrugged.  “I’m supposed to bring it.”

“And you’re sitting here with me instead?”

“You’re more important,” he murmured in that deep, velvety rumble of his.  

It was definitely lending her goosebumps today.

“But won’t Jin be disappointed?”

“Someone else can go pick it up if he is.”

Her eyes kept straying to the front window.  “The tow truck isn’t here yet.”

“We’ll wait until it comes.”

“Are you always so calm and steady?”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing seems to ruffle you.  You’re never in a hurry.  Even when you’re immensely late.”

“I’ve learned that being in a hurry never does any good.”

“What do you mean?  How did you learn that?”

He sighed and looked into her eyes.  

But then her gaze was distracted by a bright orange truck out front.  “Uh, Yunseok, I think the tow truck is here.”

His head swiveled towards the front of the store.  “Yep.  Let’s go.”  Then he stopped as he looked down at the table.  “Wait.”

“What?”

“You almost missed some chocolate,” he pointed out with a smile.

Then he picked up the last bite of cookie and held it up to her lips.  She opened her mouth.  This time her lips did graze his fingertips.  And the earth tilted slightly on its axis.