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"should i go one of these days and try your mom's famous tarts?"
she laughed nervously as she shook her had. "no.. are you serious? all that long way just for a tart? just tell me what flavor you'd like to try and i'll bring it to you when i come to seoul." she said with smiley eyes. her heart racing at the thought of what would happen if kihyun would go to her mother's restaurant.
he stared at her now with serious eyes but then laughed. "i don't mind the ride."
"no. seriously... it's such a long way there... i'll bring one when i come here... either way i have to come to check on my apartment, i can't leave it inhabited for so long." she said caressing his fingers.
he breathed out and finally agreed. "fine. you win... i'd like to try something fruity."
"noted. something fruity." she said.
after that outing, she felt a bit more relaxed, even though kihyun's attitude was still confusing, she felt that in the next few weeks she was going to be at her mom's, she'd take that time to think better about everything related to her relationship to kihyun.
"oh my sweet daughter!" boki's mom exclaimed as she entered the restaurant. it was slightly crowded, most tables were full. she noticed jooheon attending a few tables. he seemed focused and diligent.
"mom!" she said as her mum hugged her tight. the place was vivid, there was background music, glasses clinking and people talking. she had missed it.
"thanks god you arrived, we have plenty work to do... this, put on your apron and help me with those tables." bona, boki's mom said as she went to the register machine.
she nodded and quickly took one of the table section. jooheon noticed her presence and his eyes somehow sparkled. "yah... kumquat... when did you arrive?" he said bumping softly to her.
she smiled.
"just 5 minutes ago."
"and you weren't planning saying hi? you're not allowed?" he stared at her with inquisitive eyes.
"jooheon!" one of the customers called him.
"coming! - he said at the time he turned to look at her with narrowed eyes - answer me that later, got work to do." he said finally going towards the table that was calling him.
boki worked hard for the rest of the night and waited plenty tables. once it was time to close, boki's mom was doing the counts as she served dinner for them. they sat at the bar area.
jooheon seemed to enjoy the food, since he'd eat deliciously.
"so... what you have to say about it?" his voice echoed. she glanced at the kitchen, where bona's souschef was finishing cleaning the kitchen. she was sure he couldn't hear them.
boki returned her eyes to the food and shrugged. "it's not like that."
"no? - he turned to look at her with inquisitive eyes - it sure does look like that to me."
"hey... - she said meeting his big eyes. she knew jooheon didn't like kihyun but seeing him right now, in front of her, memories flashed of what he said the previous night. all the bad things he had done to jooheon and now she kind of understood, why jooheon didn't like him so much.
boki returned her eyes to her plate, it was difficult to look at jooheon straight in the eye.
"yes?"
"uh?" she asked confused. he frowned, putting his chopsticks down. "you said "hey"?" he tilted his head.
yeah sure, she had said it.
"ah...yeah just- let's not talk about your brother-
"step brother."
"right. right, step brother... let's not talk about him, alright?" she said glancing nervously at him. jooheon remained silent for a second, narrowing his eyes.
"did you two have a fight?"
her eyes widened for a second as she tried to bit her tongue, to not spill the beans to him. she knew he'd probably get mad if he knew, what she knew.
"no. of course not- she said swallowing the rice - it's just, i know he's not your favorite topic."
he nodded. "that is dang right." he said returning to his food. they both remained silent for the next seconds until jooheon finished his dinner.
"right. let's not talk about him while we're here. i like that." they both laughed. truth be told, it was okay for boki.
she kind of didn't want to talk about yoo kihyun either. it was better this way.
this way, she could focus on her actual feelings, try to understand them and to embrace them, whatever they were.
"so... do you have plans later on?" he asked. her eyes widened as she turned to meet his eyes.
"plans?"
"yeah i mean... you mom mentioned that there was a lookout close? i've never been in this town so i am kinda curious about the local attractions."
boki looked at him surprised. "are you?"
"yah... is it so hard to believe?" his voice resounded as she laughed at his cute ways. "no. it's not... and yeah... there's actually a lookout that has view to the sea, it's really pretty at night.
there's also a harbor with plenty shops around, restaurants and parks."
jooheon remained motionless, just staring at her. her heart skipped a beat when she noticed his eyes, again, diverting to her lips for a split second. "fine... let's go there." he said standing from the bar. boki stared at him with disbelief.
"right now?"
"right now what?" mrs. do appeared out of nowhere with a big smile.
"ah... mrs. do let me guess... it was a good night?" he asked with smiley eyes. she just nodded.
"a very good indeed... you're getting a bonus at the end of the week jooheon!" she exclaimed, cleaning the bar with a kitchen rag. boki looked at the pair with confused eyes.
they seem to get along just fine.
"so... right now where? are you guys going somewhere?" mrs. do asked. jooheon just nodded, his hands inside the pockets of his hoodie.
"i was inviting ku- boki to go with me to the lookout." he said closing his eyes, cursing herself mentally for almost calling her kumquat in front of her mother. boki looked at him with curious eyes.
mrs. do eyes widened as they sparkled. "ohh that sounds nice... the lookout is such a nice and you know... romantic place." she said making eyes to boki.
boki's eyes widened as she tried to make her mother stop. jooheon stared at the pair with strange eyes.
"also cold... very cold so let me get my coat." boki said standing from the seat and looking for her coat. jooheon glanced at mrs. do as she moved her eyebrows.
"alright kids... remember come hom early... have fun." she said once they stepped out of the restaurant. boki walked next to jooheon as they both had their hands in each of their jacket/coat.
the night was cold indeed. it was december's midterm vacation. it was three long weeks. "your mom-
"i know. she's crazy, please forgive her-
jooheon looked at her with confused eyes. "no... i was about to say she's cool. i really... like her."
boki glanced at him with confused eyes. "really? do you?"
he nodded, a sweet smile appearing on his lips as his dimples showed up almost immediately. boki stumbled with a small rock on the road, since her eyes diverted to his face, specifically to his dimples and she got distracted.
"yah... look your way, you gonna get hurt." hopefully, he didn't realize she was distracted because of him.
the lookout was on the distance. it was up hill, they walked next to each other in silence. it was a comfortable silence though.
he glanced at her for a second but then returned his eyes to the road. she did the same. it seemed as if he wanted to say something, but would regret always and change his mind last minute.
"do you like the work so far?" she decided to ease his nerves a bit. he nodded eagerly.
"i do... actually, i am wanted to thank you for it."
"me?" she asked pointing to herself, eyes widened. jooheon just nodded.
"yeah well... - he started, as he scratched the back of his head - if it weren't- he wanted to say it. to confess it to her.
if it wasn't for you, i wouldn't have decided go back to college, take seriously my life, study and be someone. if it wasn't for you, i wouldn't have this job, which is way better than i deserve, with a good pay, flexible schedules and a nice boss that respects me. if it wasn't for you... i wouldn't feel less alone in the world.
"uh?" she asked when he stayed shut for a second. she noticed he stopped walking and was now just looking at her with widened eyes, as if he was realizing something just now.
"jooheon?"
he blinked twice as he cleared his throat, he looked around and realized they've reached the highest point of the look out. "wah look at that!" he said pointing behind her. she followed him confused.
he changed the topic, because that's what cowards do. and he was a coward.
he would never confess this to someone, because as soon as he trusts his feelings and open up to someone, that someone would always leave.
"ah so pretty." she said with a big smile. they both approached the rail.
the view was stunning, the city lights reflected on the pitch-black water, that looked like a cute pond with the mountains surrounding it.
there was also view to the harbor and the small commercial complex around, with every other shop. they both smiled at the view.
"ah... air is different up here." boki said, jooheon quickly agreed.
he turned to look at her for a short second but when their eyes met, he quickly looked away towards the water. boki thought he was acting weird but decided to not give it too much importance.
"this is my first time in a lookout."
"really?" she looked excited. he just nodded. "i don't know... i used to not appreaciate places like these." it seemed a sad memory flashed. she wanted to ask but didn't dare.
"you know... my grandma used to take me out for walks... just to get me out of the house because i was always stuck with my nintendo. so she'd try to bribe me with an ice cream... but we had these long walks, through parks, through green areas. she'd take pictures around and pictures of me.... and then... we'd go for the ice cream, at the end of our stroll."
he seemed sad talking about this and boki couldn't help but wonder why. but she didn't want to interrupt since it seemed it was lee jooheon's story time and he seemed too invested in it and for the first time he was talking to her about something personal, she didn't want to ruin the moment.
"i never- i... really hated those walks... i never enjoyed them, because it was hot, because there were mosquitoes or my short legs at the time hurt at night after the walk... or it was hot outside... either way i'd always prefer staying home, playing mario... instead of going out with her."
he sighed, his eyes lost in the sea. she noticed how they turned glassy for a second and she felt the need to comfort him somehow, but she didn't know how.
"now she's gone." her heart skipped a beat at the sudden sad confession. "she's gone and... these memories of my hated walks, are the only thing i have left." he turned to look at her, somehow all the sadness in the world reflected on his cute, big and now glassy eyes. "she was an amazing woman... the sweetest ever. she loved me very much and she just wanted to share with me... because she knew... that... she didn't have much time left." she noticed his hands trembling inside the pockets of his hoodie and she guessed he was about to cry.
quickly, boki put her hands inside the pockets of his hoodie, looking for his hands. jooheon's eyes widened at the sudden bold action, but when he felt her touch, her fingers entwining with hers, her sweet touch, her fingers squeezing his softly, comforting him, calming him, he felt as if he could breathe again.
at first, boki didn't say a thing. she just squeezed his hand with a reassuring nod, her eyes spoke volumes and he understood what she meant. it was as if there was certain complicity where words weren't needed somehow.
he felt at ease and knew he didn't need to share anything else for her to understand his feelings.
"i am sure she loved you very much." she finally said after a few minutes in silence, once she was sure he was again strong to talk. his eyes no longer glassy and his sadness, calmed.
he nodded as their hands were still together. "i know."
she smiled at him, a sweet kind of smile and nodded as well. "at least you remember her with love. that's much more than some of us have."
he frowned softly when he felt her hands breaking apart from his. "what do you mean?"
she shrugged, hugging herself. it was starting to turn really cold. "i never met my grandma." his eyes widned in shock as he felt suddenly sad for boki. "really? none of them?"
boki only shook her head. "none of them... my father's mom died when he was a child... and my mom's mom... when she was a teenager, before she even married my father, same thing with my grandads."
he swallowed hard. "no shit... you take the trophy to the saddest grandparents story tonight." he said now, finally both of them laughed.
he noticed boki was cold now. "should we return now? it's getting late." he said, she quickly agreed.
"so... it's just you and your mom?" he asked on their way back. boki seemed to be slightly uncomfortable about the question, but she trusted jooheon. he was kind of... one of her best friends now, so she knew there was no need to hie or keep things from him, from her private life.
"yeah... just me and her."
he nodded. "your mom mentioned something about that."
"really? what did she say?"
he shrugged, looking down at the streed, kicking rocks on the way. "just that your father was a pig who abandoned you guys."
boki tensed at the mention of her old man. it always made her feel uncomfortable. she didn't have plenty memories of him and she was happy to keep it that way.
"well... she's right."
he glanced at her curiously. "when was the last time you saw him?"
she sighed. boki didn't want to talk about her father right now, but she didn't want to deny this kind of information to jooheon.
"i... i can't remember clearly... maybe 10 years ago? i don't know."
he nodded. "i see... do you miss him-
"never." she said with a hurt tone now, her face serious. jooheon quickly understood this was a sensitive topic for her, so he just nodded quickly.
"better that way... don't see the point of missing someone who's clearly not worthy of you- you guys... you and your mom." he said avoiding her eyes.
boki agreed. her father didn't deserve them, not especially after he left her mom for someone younger.
"either way... i am glad he's not in our lives again... he was very- she thought about sharing some insight of how the life with her father was, to jooheon, but she knew it was not worthy either. and to admit it, would kind of bring hurtful memories of it.
she shook her head. "you know what... it's not worthy mentioning it."
jooheon just smiled, he was kind of proud. "yah... that's the attitude... he's a wacko too... i know a few people like him." he immediately regretted saying it. he didn't want to fight boki by insulting kihyun. he knew he should respect her decision of dating him.
but truth be told. he couldn't respect kihyun. at. all.
she glared at him but finally laughed. "it's okay. i know what you mean-" immediately she regretted saying it since jooheon stopped on his tracks and turned to look at her. "what?"
"uh?" she seemed confused. they were out of the lookout and had been walking for minutes now, returning to the restaurant.
boki spotted the place behind jooheon's back, at least two blocks away.
"i mean- she started laughing nervously - i know you're probably talking about kihyun." she said nervously. jooheon's inquisitive eyes remained narrowed, hands inside the pockets of his black hoodie.
"how?"
"h-how?" she laughed nervously again. "ha.... well, because you said it before?" she threw that bomb, hoping that jooheon would just let it go.
he shrugged and kept walking. "i never lie... i never. never lie." he said, finally agreeing with her and not asking any questions about it. the only thought of jooheon asking questions about
kihyun just shoot her nerves up.
she didn't want to throw kihyun under the bus, admitting everything he admitted to her, to
jooheon. she didn't want to cause any more trouble between them.
but it seemed, she was always at the brink of spilling the beans to him.
"your mom closed already... let's go." he said once they reached the restaurant place, and noticed the lights were off and there was literally no one there.
boki frowned. "fine." she said as she noticed jooheon just opened a small gate and walked in. she followed him confused.
"h-how do you know- where are you going?" she asked shocked.
she noticed they arrived the backyard of the restaurant and he put the code in the only door. the door opened and he turned to look at her with bored eyes.
"home." he simply said shrugging.
boki glanced behind jooheon and realized it was her house. her mind put the pieces together as she looked at him shocked again. she thought he was going to walk to whatever place he was staying and she was willing to go with him and then return to her house, which was behind the restaurant, in the backyard.
but she never imagined, jooheon would go there too. "so that means that you... that you..."
"yep. that means i am staying with you." he said flashing the biggest smile, dimples sparkling like a christmas tree.
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a/n: hey guys, double update finally after SO long! please be patient with this story because i am kind of restarting writing from zero because i lost the drafts i had on this. i hope you enjoy and again, really sorry to be updating after almost a year.
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