title; satsuma
summary; clementines and eyerolls. — cha ji an x lee hyeon ft. min
words; 488
he wondered when his thoughts about cha ji an had become so soft.
ji an, ji an, ji an. she was a force to be reckoned with. she was a bad liar. an even worse cook. she wasn't really exceptionally intelligent (street - wise or book - wise) but somehow, every time she walked into the room, he felt .. at ease. something he never expected to feel. not after living through hell.
he supposed he had always sort of liked her, in a weird, detached manner. she was gutsy and charming but funny and clever (not intelligent, just clever. clever) and damn, she was a good kisser.
(not that he'd ever admit that.)
when he thought about cha ji an, he thought about a book he had read once. matilda. it was a child's novel, and it was remarkably wonderful. it wasn't a gaudy book with huge words about this and that (the kind of book you would expect lee hyeon to read as a child, you know, something beyond his years); no, it was just a small novel about a girl who was fed up with the world crushing her and decided it was time to crush back.
but in very small triumphs, one at a time. and at the end of the book, matilda gets a happy ending — she stays with the one person who truly understands her and cares for her.
(maybe lee hyeon was matilda, too. perhaps a little bit.)
maybe ... he had started to feel this way when he found out who she was. rather, not because of she was, but because of her determination to find him. to just be with him.
hyeon recalled the expression on her face when he had remembered. it had been so full of joy, her eyes had lit up, she was thrilled. she was. thrilled.
he smiled.
a door slammed somewhere, drawing him out of his thoughts.
his brother walked in, followed by none other than ji an.
"hey," min said gruffly.
"i brought clementines," ji an announced happily, throwing herself down next to hyeon. "here," she murmured, taking his hand and unfolding it.
(if min noticed his brother's ears turning red, he said nothing.)
as she placed the clementine in his palm, chattering away about something relatively pointless, he blinked slowly. and then once more.
he loved cha ji an.
ah, that was it.
he leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek before standing and heading into the kitchen. "what should we have for dinner?"
ji an's face was on fire.
min rolled his eyes.
additional notes; the chemistry / pacing / plot & characters of hello monster was / were so unique and i cant get over it even three months later. and i just like the word satsuma.