Hello again! Thank you for the reviews and support. This is a filler chapter to get things moving towards the incident when Ji-hoo meets his love interest.
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Groggy Jan-di stretched and stifled a yawn while sitting up in bed. Her body ached as she fumbled with the comforter which seemed to be stuck. Turning her head she almost jumped in surprise when she noticed Jun-pyo laying next to her, shirtless. Looking around the room she realized they must have gone to a hotel, pieces of her clothing were scattered everywhere. Anxious she examined herself letting out a sigh of relief when she saw that she was wearing Jun-pyo's shirt. Nothing like that happened she assured herself rolling out of bed. On shaky legs she stumbled to the bathroom quickly closing and locking the door behind her. Splashing her face with cold water in attempt to calm her nerves she tried to remember what all happened last night. She knew they went back inside after their mini make out session, but she doesn't remember leaving let alone arriving at the hotel. None of what she can recall explains why she's so sore either. Turning the water off she decided to go back to bed, maybe she just needed some more rest.
Opening the bathroom door she was shocked to see Jun-pyo fully awake and standing there as if he were waiting for her. "Good morning." He greeted giving her a quick kiss wrapping his arms around her waist. "Where are we?" She asked hoping to get some information without giving away that she didn't remember anything. "We are in a hotel a couple blocks away from where the party was last night." Brows knitted together in confusion she tried to make sense as to why they stayed in town when they could have gone to his house. He chuckled at her expression and ruffled her hair "You don't remember a thing do you?" She tried to play it off like she didn't know what he was talking about, crossing his arms he leaned against the door frame with a smug grin. "Then why don't you tell me what happened last night?" She blushed as endless possibilities ran through her mind, none of them innocent. "I thought so."
Embarrassed she walked over and fell onto the bed face first. "Honestly it's my fault," Sitting on the edge of the bed he rubbed her back trying to help release some of the tension. "I left you for five minutes and came back to you and Woo-bin having a drinking contest. I immediately dragged you out of there." He chuckled as he recalled the events of last night "you weren't thrilled with me interrupting your contest. You threw your shoes at me and ran off as soon as I got you outside. I chased after you and by the time I caught you we were outside this hotel." Relieved yet slightly disappointed Jan-di sat up her face burning red. She couldn't believe she had acted such a way, and agreeing to a drinking contest. She'd never done such a thing before, she could hardly understand why she had agreed to it at all. She's always been well aware of the fact that she has a low tolerance to alcohol. "And the clothes?" She asked hesitantly worried that she may have done something to make a bigger fool of herself.
"Well you started stripping as soon as we got in the room. You were complaining about it being too hot. It took all my strength to wrestle my shirt onto you and get you in bed, eventually I was successful. You've definitely gotten stronger over these few years it wasn't easy to do." The embarrassment she felt was overwhelming and she wondered if it were at all possible for the earth to open up and swallow her whole in that moment. How was she supposed to face him after that, what does he think of her? Would he believe that she's never normally like that or does he think she's some kind of… of alcoholic. The word itself made her nauseous and she wondered if she could feign being sick and run away to hide in the safety of her home. "Hey, are you feeling okay?" He asked placing a hand on her forehead and touching her cheeks. "You look a little pale." Before she could reply she sprinted to the bathroom Jun-pyo on her heels. He grabbed her hair while she emptied the contents of her stomach bracing herself over the toilet.
As if things couldn't have gotten more embarrassing Jan-di thought bitterly as she leaned back against the wall having thrown up for the third time. Jun-pyo released her hair as she slid down the wall to a sitting position on the floor. He was on the phone with someone, but she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to focus on his conversation. "Ji-hoo is going to come by with some clothes and medicine." He said tucking his phone away in his pocket. She blinked at him, mouth dry, the words caught in their throat uncooperative. Shame flowed effortlessly through her veins to the depths of her soul and she wanted to scream in frustration. Making a mental note to never drink again she went to stand, wanting nothing more than to lay down for a moment. "Here, drink some water." Grateful she took the cup from Jun-pyo and sipped on it while he wrapped one of the hotels robes around her, "I thought you might want to cover up some before Ji-hoo arrived." Cheeks flushed she realized that she had been running around in nothing but his button up shirt and her underwear. "I'm going to pick up some, lay down and rest okay." With a nod and quiet thank you Jan-di crawled back into the massive bed pulling the comforter over her head her body curling into a protective ball.
It wasn't long until Ji-hoo arrived, Jan-di could hear him and Jun-pyo talking quietly while she hid under the blankets. A few minutes more and the shuffling of feet and the opening and closing of the door stirred her interest. Peaking out from her cocoon she noticed that Jun-pyo was no where to be seen and Ji-hoo was sitting on the couch. "You're awake," he stated walking over to her with a white paper bag. "This should help with the nausea. You should drink plenty of fluids and rest as much as possible." She scoffed in response rolling her eyes "are you doctoring me?" He chuckled softly while handing her some water. "Im following orders. Woo-bin is pretty messed up today too. I was over there doctoring him before Jun-pyo called me. He had to step out for a bit and asked that I watch over you." A part of her was grateful that Jun-pyo wasn't here to continually witness her like this, the other part anxious as to where he might have gone. They hadn't spent a moment apart since he showed up after her performance and though she knew eventually classes would resume and he'd have to travel for work she dreaded thinking of it. She found the idea of going back to having distance between them left her lonelier than before and she wondered how they would navigate it this time.
"You really surprised us last night," Ji-hoo said pulling her out of her tangled and somewhat depressing thoughts. She starred at him blankly trying to make sense of what he meant by that. "You don't remember?" He seemed to be as amused by this revelation as Jun-pyo was. "I don't normally drink like that, so no I don't remember." She said the uneasiness in her voice evident. "Would you like me to fill you in?" Hopeful eyes looked up at him and she sat up more in bed eager to fit together the missing pieces from last night. "Woo-bin was asking your friend Kim Min-Seo out which you objected to immediately. You said if Woo-bin could beat you at a challenge you'd give your consent for them to go on a date. Unfortunately for you he picked the challenge, I really thought Jun-pyo was going to hit him. You were holding your own pretty well but we didn't expect it to last long." Mind racing she tired to remember but nothing Ji-hoo was saying seemed familiar to her.
"So did I win?" She asked curious about the results of their competition. "Jun-pyo interrupted before a winner was determined but you were in the lead by two. Kim Min-seo turned Woo-bin down anyways. She idolizes you too much to date someone you disapprove of." Great she thought grumpily leaning back against the headboard. "So basically I feel like shit for nothing?" She was complaining, something she normally never does, but there's been a lot of that lately it seems. "You could say that, but Woo-bin feels like shit too. So even if he had won it probably wouldn't have been an enjoyable date." Hearing that brought her some form of comfort and she wondered what Kim Min-seo thought of her seeing her drink like that.
"What are you going to do!" Ji-hoo's expression changed, more serious now.
"What do you mean?" She was genuinely confused as to what he was talking about.
"Classes start back up soon and Jun-pyo will take over for his father any day now. How are you two going to stand being apart from each other?" Sighing heavily she thought about this, "I could transfer schools. But I'd have to wait till next break." She mused blowing her bangs out of her eyes with a huff. She really hadn't thought about it in too much detail because she was waiting to see if Jun-pyo even wanted her to move back. It was a topic he either hasn't thought of or he was avoiding. "What if you didn't have to wait?" Brow arched she questioned Ji-hoo not seeing how that was possible.
"I may have put in a transfer for both of us," he mumbled bashfully looking away as if he was fearful of her reaction. Blinking s couple times she let his words register. Eyes wide as saucers she blurted out a frenzy of questions from when, to how, to where and why. He motioned for her to stop talking and she nervously bit her lip to keep her mouth shut. "I had a feeling and well… I put in for us to transfer to Shinhwa University." She starred at him is utter disbelief, she truly didn't know what to say. What if Jun-pyo didn't want her here yet, where was she going to live, what about work. All these things churned through her mind and she felt dizzy thinking about it all. "It's not final. You can still decide but just in case I wanted the option to be available to you." She nodded not trusting herself to speak, "you should get some rest now," pulling the comforter up he tucked her in and patted her head before going over and taking his former position on the couch.
"Jan-di, Jan-di," groaning at the sound of her name she rolled over burying herself deeper into the warmth of her pillow. "You should probably wake up," swatting at the hand that was shaking her gently she pulled the comforter over her head and rolled again so that she was completely unexposed. She was shook one more time the same voice urging her to wake up. Grumbling she finally sat up rubbing her eyes. "Jun-pyo when did you get back?" She asked sleepily looking around the room. It was dark outside, sunlight no longer streaming in through the window and Ji-hoo was no where to be seen. "I got back a few hours ago. I didn't want to wake you earlier. I wanted to see if you wanted anything for dinner. I was going to order something." Fearful of vomiting again she shook her head no but her stomach betrayed her by answering for itself. Jun-pyo somehow talked her into trying to eat some soup.
She laid back down on the promise that she'd wake up when the food got there and as agreed she didn't complain half as much when he woke her up to eat. She ended up being hungrier than she though, finishing off the all the soup and drinking lots of water. Full and satisfied they laid down in bed and watched tv until both of them had drifted off to sleep.
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"Jun-pyo what's gotten into you?" Jan-di asked as he giddily dragged her down the street unable to contain his excitement. After checking out of the hotel he whisked her away and she had to semi jog just to keep up with his eager pace. "I'm going to show you what I did yesterday." He chirped suddenly changing direction and pulling her along. It reminded her of the old days when he would drag her around everywhere. It took her some time to get used to it and it's something she never realized she missed about him. She was definitely feeling nostalgic. Suddenly he stopped and she bumped into his back, rubbing her nose she went to scold him but he didn't give her a chance. "This is it." Looking up she noticed that they were outside of an apartment building. Following him up the stairs she wondered just what exactly he's been up to.
"What do you think?" He watched her as she walked around the apartment in awe, observing every inch of the place. "Jun-pyo this place is amazing!" She gushed "do you live here?" She hadn't recalled him mentioning moving out of his parents house. His grin was blinding as he walked over and took her in his arms. "I'm thinking about it." The thought of being able to visit him and not have to worry about his parents or maids thrilled her. It might be selfish of her but when she had time with him she wanted him to herself.
"I'm thinking about transferring to Shinhwa University." She blurted out suddenly and she could tell that he was shocked to hear this, he froze for a second and she worried that he might be against the idea. Burying her head in his shoulder she dared not look at him fearful of rejection.
"Move in with me?"
"Wha-what?" It sounded like he asked her to move in with him but she mentally laughed that idea off. There was no way that's what he had asked. They weren't even married… she wasn't sure if they were even dating honestly.
"I said, move in with me." Her mouth opened and closed a couple times but no words came out. Her mind fumbled over the idea and she wondered if he was serious.
"But we, I mean- I, you- move in?" He laughed at her flustered response.
"I know it seems like we'd be moving a little fast. But… I don't think I can part from you again. I want to come home to you each night and wake up to you in the morning. We're going to be busy and I'd like to know that I can at least have this time with you." Swallowing hard she nodded unable to speak. She was moving in with Jun-pyo. This was actually happening. Cheering he jumped around like a kid, his happiness was contagious and she found herself being spun around in his arms. "I love you," she said before capturing his lips with hers. She didn't know how things were going to play out in the long run or what their friends would think but she didn't care. She wasn't going to be alone anymore and for the first time in three years she felt like she had s place to call home.
