A/N: A quick update again! It's starting to be a not-so-rare occurence, isn't it? Thanks to you awesome guys and girls who reviewed the last chapter, this one's longer than usual just for you. ;)

Chapter 10: Agitated
For the remainder of the week, Xiaoyu did her best to clear her mind of all things relationship related and just focus on doing things that needed doing. She sorted through her wardrobe, condemning fashion disasters to a black binliner and at the same time creating more hiding places for her shoes. She cleared out the bathroom and kitchen cabinets of nearly empty tubes and bottles, recycled the old newspapers, TV guides and glossy women's magazines that were jammed in the rack, replied to all her email and organised the DVDs and CDs into alphabetical order. On Friday afternoon, finding no other jobs to be done in the house, Xiaoyu set out to do the grocery shopping. They usually just ordered online, but she'd decided that she could deal with becoming the sort of woman who got excited about two for one offers if it meant she wasn't the sort of woman who lusted after her friends' boyfriends and put her marriage in jeopardy.

The supermarket was crowded, full of old ladies and mothers and children, some well-behaved, some screaming and having hissy-fits over toys that they wanted. As Xiaoyu queued up with her full basket, a little boy in front of her pointed at some chocolate on the shelf next to the tills, tugging at his mother's sleeve.

"No, you'll spoil your dinner." the woman told him, and Xiaoyu allowed herself a little smile. How many times had her mother told her that back when she was a child? Actually, how many times had Jin told her that when he saw her with a chocolate bar in the afternoons? Sometimes he reminded her so much of her mother with the things he said that she'd have to bite her tongue to keep from mentioning it. She was sure he wouldn't be too happy if she told him. Though it would be worth it just to see the look on his face.

Xiaoyu looked down at the contents of her basket, thinking. If she hurried home, she could start on dinner and have it done by the time Jin got in. He'd certainly be surprised to see that she'd actually cooked something for once, instead of taking something out of the freezer and sticking it in the microwave. Well, she thought with a faint smile, mother always says that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. She often bored Xiaoyu with the story of how she'd made her father fall in love with her by serving him her famous steamed buns and pork and mushrooms.

Steamed buns, she couldn't do. But, she could handle a simple stir-fry, at a pinch. Then they'd cuddle up and watch some TV, and hopefully... Hopefully he wouldn't whine that he was too tired or pull some other stupid excuse out of nowhere. She'd managed four days before she'd run out of patience and started scheming ways to get Jin to sleep with her. A new record.

Xiaoyu was still mentally running through the evening when she reached her front door, slid the key home, and realised the door was already unlocked. It swung open, revealing Jin standing there, already changed out of his work clothes and holding a small child.

For a moment, Xiaoyu just stared. She didn't know what was more surprising, the vaguely familiar child, or the fact that Jin was home at six.

"What's going on?" she asked, blinking.

"Oh, Christie called. She wanted us to look after Elliott for a couple of hours. I said it was okay."

"Called here?"

"No, she called me at work. I took a half day." He looked at her questioningly. "You went shopping? I was gonna order it."

"Oh, I wanted something to do." Xiaoyu replied, walking into the kitchen and setting the bags on the countertop. "When's Christie coming for him?"

"I dunno. She said about ten, but she'll call."

"Right." She started unloading the shopping, sighing inwardly. Well, that was her plan shot down in flames. She supposed they could still have a late dinner, but knowing Jin, he'd take off to bed and be wrapped up in the covers before she could bat an eyelid.

"You hungry? I was gonna make something."

"No, it's fine." Jin replied. "I had dinner already. Listen, I'm gonna go put something on TV for Elliott. Why don't you have a bath?"

Well, she hadn't had chance to read her romance novel, what with all the sorting out she'd been doing and the errands she'd been running. Xiaoyu guessed her plan could wait a day. Besides, if she sat with the kid, she'd only catch herself throwing him resentful glances every so often for ruining her evening by existing. And then she'd feel bad about directing nasty thoughts towards a three year old.

After an hour long soak in the bathtub, Xiaoyu slipped on her pyjamas and stepped out into the hallway. She could hear Jin's voice as he talked to the little boy, and tiptoed over to the study doorway where the two of them were sitting on the floor. Xiaoyu couldn't help but smile at the sight of Jin sitting cross legged with the kid in his lap, reading out loud and pointing at the pictures in the book.

Perfect, she thought. He's so very nearly perfect.

The shrill ring of the telephone made her jump, and she hurried back down the hall before he could notice her, intending to tidy the bathroom. She could hear Jin talking as she walked away.

"Hey, everything okay? Good. Glad to hear it. Huh? Is that right? Tonight? Well, no, it's not."

Xiaoyu stopped, listening intently. It had to be work. Was she going to get stuck with Elliott for the next three hours? She was hopeless with kids.

"No. Uh-huh. Yeah, I'll get on that first thing. I'm busy tonight."

Her first reaction was to breathe a sigh of relief. She didn't have to worry about breaking the baby. Her second reaction was one of hope, swelling in her heart and lifting her mood as she heard Jin start reading again.

"Uh, Jin?" Xiaoyu asked later, trying to sound casual as they waved off Christie at the door.

"Mmm?"

"I was just wondering..." She closed the door and followed him into the living room. "I heard you talking on the phone earlier. Was it work?"

He nodded, sitting down on the sofa and patting the cushion next to him. She sat, and he put an arm around her, pulling her close and stroking her hair softly. For a while, they stayed like that, Xiaoyu resting her head on his shoulder and staring at the muted television.

"They wanted you to do something?" she asked eventually.

"Yeah. I told them I was busy."

"I know." She closed her eyes. "And...well, it got me thinking. You think we could arrange something, maybe one night a week where you can say you're busy and it's just us? No distractions? Y'know... we could go see a movie, or go out to dinner somewhere... Or we could stay home..."

"Xiao... tonight was a one off"

She sat up.

"What do you mean?"

He gave her a look, as if to say that what he meant should have been obvious.

"There was no way around it. I know you'd have panicked if I'd have left you alone with him."

"But they were okay about it, weren't they? So couldn't you do it again?"

"I can't just ditch my responsibilities for trivial reasons like that, Xiao."

Trivial. The word stabbed at her, turning disappointment into anger, making her stand up abruptly, whirl around to face him without even trying to disguise her hurt.

"Why do I even bother?" she asked, voice wavering. "What's the point?"

Jin sighed. The sort of sigh he always used when he thought she was being silly, or childish.

"Xiao, don't be like this."

"No, Jin. Tell me. What's the point?"

"The point of what?"

"What's the point in even trying with you? All I've been doing these past few months is trying my hardest to get you to act like you used to!"

He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

"I can only do so much, Jin! I can only take so much of this crap!"

"How many times do I have to tell you -"

"No! Listen to me! Listen! Let me tell you how I feel, and listen to me!" Xiaoyu was aware that she probably sounded like a spoiled brat, but she didn't much care. "Is it so much to ask? I just want things to be like they were before! I can't do this all by myself, Jin!" She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and swiped at them angrily. "I feel like... Like I'm your roommate! I don't feel like your wife anymore."

"I think you need to calm down. I can't talk sense to you when you're like this."

Xiaoyu stood in front of him, eyes wide, tears beginning to slip down her face.

"Fuck you." she spat.

Waking up after an argument always struck Xiaoyu as being similar to waking up after a night out and realising that you'd been so drunk that you'd made a complete idiot of youself. There were the initial few moments when you first woke up and didn't remember what had happened, then the few moments afterwards when everything came flooding back and your heart sank, and you thought 'did I really do that'? Not that she didn't feel like what she had said was justified, but she probably could have handled it better.

No, she thought, anger still bubbling inside her. Why should I have? He was the one in the wrong, not me.

Xiaoyu stumbled out of bed, wrapped her dressing gown around her and sloped downstairs to forage for cereal, her mood worsening with each step down the staircase. She could hear snippets of conversation from the living room, Jin must have left the TV on. Hopefully it was a talk show, and she could watch it and take solace in the fact that the guests were worse off than she was.

However, when she swung open the door to the lounge, the TV was off. Julia was there, sitting on the sofa across from Jin, searching through documents spread across the coffee table. She looked up, giving Xiaoyu a friendly smile.

"Morning!"

"Oh, um... hey Jules." she mumbled, hands flying up to smooth down her bed hair. "I wasn't expecting to see you here." Her mind whispered you kissed her boyfriend, you kissed her boyfriend, you nasty little bitch.

"Yeah, well I have exams soon, so I won't be able to make our usual dinner dates." Julia replied. "It isn't a bother, me being here, is it?" I'm sorry, Julia. I'm so sorry.

"No!" Xiaoyu answered quickly, managing a small smile. "It's fine. But if I'd have known you were here, I'd have sorted out my hair."

Julia laughed, looking back at the countless scraps of paper and starting to sift through them once more. Xiaoyu wandered into the kitchen and spent half an hour at the counter, glowering into her cereal bowl. She didn't want to subject Jules to her bad mood, after all, it would only make everyone feel awkward. So instead she sat there, listening to their enthusiastic conversation, and wishing that Jin would show some of that spark with her. She swallowed a mouthful of soggy cereal and rest her chin in her hands, staring into space, letting her eyes unfocus.

"Oh, damn." Julia sighed suddenly, "I forgot my folder."

"What folder?" Jin's voice.

"I have class this afternoon. Got some assignments to hand in. I thought I'd left them in my bag, but... I guess we'll have to cut this short, huh?"

"Hold on. Is this folder at your place? I'm sure Xiaoyu wouldn't mind picking it up for you."

Xiaoyu rolled her eyes, turning towards the doorway. That's right, Jin. Don't ask me or anything.

"No, I'm sure she's got better things to do with her time." Julia replied, sounding a little disappointed, and Xiaoyu got off her chair, feeling a pang of guilt, and stuck her head around the doorway.

"Hey, I'll be the judge of that." she said. "It's no problem, Jules. I'll go get it."

"You're sure it's not a bother?"

"Sure. What's your address?"

Julia ripped a piece of paper out of her notebook and started to scribble, then stopped abruptly.

"Never mind." she mumbled.

"Why? What?"

"I just remembered, I took it with me when I went over to Hwoarang's the other day. It's probably at his place."

Xiaoyu's stomach lurched. Jin, who'd been busy reading from a file, looked up slowly, taking his glasses off.

"So what's the problem?"

Julia looked embarrassed.

"...What's his address?" Xiaoyu forced herself to ask.

"I can't ask you to go there. I know how you feel about him"

Xiaoyu could feel Jin's eyes on her, knew exactly what he was thinking. Selfish. Immature. She took a deep breath, wondering just how much she was going to regret this.

"I can tolerate him for a few minutes, Jules. Write me down his address."