aligned ? monsta x

f o r t y t h r e e

jooheon gave off completely different vibes from kihyun, and she felt at peace when being around him, it was an undescribable feeling she couldn't understand sometimes.

was she more comfortable around jooheon than her boyfriend? 

and then his eyes caught her staring. he quickly looked away as he vigorously mopped the floors and boki felt her heart skipping a beat.

her mother's words echoed in her mind as she remembered the woman saying that jooheon liked her.

did he? 

she glanced at him one more time. his hands held onto the mop as he hummed a song, trying to avoid her eyes, she knew.

but did he like her? 

sometimes he was harsh with her and he had a dark sense of humor, not as much as kihyun's but definitely a sarcastic one. 

one would say, he didn't like her. but most of the times, boki's mom was right, about everything.

her cheeks turned warm at the thought of jooheon liking her, but why? it's not like she needed that kind of drama in her life right now, not now that she was dating kihyun, well, sort of. 

she pushed away the thoughts of jooheon liking her and her new aroused heart beats whenever she thought of it and rushed to finish cleaning the place. 

jooheon waited for her at the backdoor, humming an unknown song as he moved his leg trying to keep up the rhythm, boki turned off the lights and closed the restaurant's backdoor. they both walked into the backyard and towards the house. 

jooheon walked silently next to her, looking down at his steps. she turned to look at him somehow feeling bad for knowing all the bad stuff kihyun had done to him, her tongue itching, wanting to tell him everything. but then his big eyes met hers and he chuckled, a kind of adorable chuckle, and then she knew, she couldn't break his heart like that. he'd completely hate her if he found out she knew about what happened with his previous jobs and didn't say a word to him. and boki couldn't take it, the hate he'll feel if he realized the truth of everything. 

that meant he'd stop being friends with her and he wouldn't be in her life anymore.

 "it was a good day today." 

"you say?" she asked, clearly remembering it hadn't been for her, especially after what happened with kihyun. 

"yeah i mean... we had lots of customers, we ran out of food, we topped our delivery night... and... - he smiled widely and then she anticipated what he was about to say - well, you kinda realized kihyun is horse shit." he laughed finally, a cute and adorable laugh, contagious, since boki couldn't help but laugh too. 

"alright, alright... you're having way too much fun with this." she said shaking her head. he opened the house's door for her and they both walked in. the house was silent and it had a cool air around. 

boki's mom liked the cold temperature and jooheon seemed to like it too, everyone except boki, who was a chicken when it came to cold.

"it's cold in here." she said as she walked to the kitchen, jooheon quickly followed her.

"i'll make us some tea." with that, she couldn't refuse. it was the first time he offered to make tea to her, and it was kind of a big deal. 

"alright." she said taking a seat in the breakfast bar. she forgot jooheon had been living there for over two weeks now and he knew by heart every place of the house now, he knew where the broom was, where the keys where and where the mugs and tea bags too. she smiled at the loving image of him, trying to make tea. 

"cherry right?" her eyes widened. 

"right. how did you know?" he shrugged, as if he wasn't giving it too much importance. 

"your mom maybe mentioned it, i don't know..." there was a long silence as they both waited for the water to boil and then boki cleared her throat, making him almost jump on his feet. 

"do you like it here?" the question seemed to take him out of guard. he looked at her and waited for a second before nodding. "i do. a lot." she smiled. 

"why?"

"why? it's amazing... is quieter than the city, people are nicer and i really like my job... i mean, it's not everyone's dream but i feel like... i've made a bond with the people around and they think i am funny... plus i earned your mom's trust and it's the first thing that this had ever happened in a job." her heart twitched at the mention of it. 

she knew her mom would be a great boss to jooheon, she knew this was the thing he needed at the moment. "you know you can stay and work here as much as you want?" he nodded. 

"i know... i plan to... but i still want to go and finish my career... i was thinking maybe i can start here a football club for kids." her eyes widened as a smiled was drawn in her lips. 

"a football club for kids? that's so cool jooheonie."

"yeah, i could work on that during weekend's mornings and then i can help your mom with the restaurant the rest of the week, it could work." boki imagined his life there, working with her mom during weekdays and weekends nights on the restaurant, probably getting a promotion as manager eventually and then on weekend's mornings, working as a football coach for kids in his own football club. it seemed like a simple, honest but really beautiful life. something that jooheon deserved.

"i love it. i think it's... the best idea you've had in a long time." 

"do you really?" his eyes were like a little kid's, expectant. boki couldn't help but smile and nod. 

"i can help you... you know, if you need help around." she shrugged. the tea pot beeped and he knew the water was ready. he poured the water on the mugs with the tea bags there already and added honey. 

"honey." he mumbled as he brought the two mugs to the breakfast bar. her eyes widened in shock at the sudden nickname. 

"w-what?"

"yah... do you want honey in your tea, yes or no?" he asked with a poker face. boki swallowed hard as she realized he was just asking if she wanted honey in her tea.

"ah- right... yes please." she quickly said avoiding his eyes.

he sat across her and stared at her, quietly, in detail. "what is it?" she noticed how his eyes diverted to her lips for a quick second, before he looked away and down to his mug. 

"i'd like that... - he scratched the back of his head - you know... your help."

"ah right." suddenly, the tension grew in the air, both looked at each other, into each other's eyes and their hearts stopped for a second. it was a knowing look. they both knew deep inside how they felt about each other but no words were spoken. 

jooheon's eyes said... "i am sorry you're stuck with such horrible person as your boyfriend...i can't believe you're with him."

and boki's eyes said. "i know." 

suddenly someone clearing her throat awakened from their daydream, they both jumped on their seat when they noticed mrs. do entering the kitchen, covering her eyes.

"omo... did i interrupt something?" 

 •