make it right.

ii.

Next Morning:

Jisoo came down to the kitchen, eyes drowsy and little puffy from sleep and was about to enter when she was startled at the sight of Taehyung already there.

Startled, of course she would be! To suddenly come across a man (such a fine one at that) in your house would be a shock to anyone. She then slowly then recalled the previous night and nodded to herself in remembrance. Taehyung observed her carefully, immersed in her own bubble. He also noted the softening of her features now that she had no makeup on. There was no major change, her face appeared younger, more baby-like. The way her round eyes widened in surprise at the sight made her look adorable for a fraction of a second. And then that soft aura was gone, again.

Taehyung was just about to point how easily he complimented her looks but seeing Jisoo coming towards him, most likely to the cabinet behind him, he moved away.

"Good morning.", she greeted with pressed lips and a small bow of her head. He responded with the same.

Taehyung moved away to the living room and sat down on the sofa, sipping his milk. His eyes however wandered back to her figure due to a 'chink' of the spoon. He noticed as she put a liberal amount of ground coffee into a mug, added hot water and left the kitchen. His jaw dropped. No sugar or creamer?

She was psychotic.

He still observed her as she took a sip of the beverage. Her lips puckered at the taste, it must have been unpleasant but she gulped it down anyway and continued her walk back upstairs. What the man didn't now as that Jisoo preferred such unpleasant stuff as in a sadistic way, it comforted her. The discomfort helped block out her thoughts, shut her mind up. From the corner of her sight, her mind doubted that Taehyung was staring at her. The thought made her a little self-conscious, and she rushed back to her room.

That evening, Taehyung was not going to have dinner at their house, since he had a welcoming dinner at their company branch in gimcheon. The timing was 9 in the evening, almost an hour more to go. Out of boredom, he decided to walk down to the hall, maybe find himself today's crossword to solve.

Jisoo and the twins were seated on the dining table, busy eating. Jisoo's back faced him but what he noticed shook him. There was a massive distance between Jisoo and the kids, who were seated on either side of the long table. Meanwhile the lady sat on shorted side between them. It seemed as if they were strangers. A cold, desolate vibe emanated from the area. It added even more affirmation to Taehyung's doubts about the mother-children relation here.

Suddenly, a chink sounded. Minra had accidentally spilled a little soup onto the table. Jisoo's eyes immediately widened towards the girl. She wanted to check up on her since the soup was considerably hot. "Are you okay?", she wanted to ask, but a bitterness spread through her mouth and stayed silent.

Minra instead took the wrong hint and comprehended that her mother was angry at her mistake. "I'm sorry, eomma.", she said and continued eating, this time more cautiously. This time Jisoo thought of what to say to assure the tiny one, but time went by. It was too late for anything to be said.

Taehyung noticed this quite uncomfortably. With a heavy feeling, he walked back to his room, wondering why things were this way in this household. He somehow knew something was the root cause behind this situation. With each day, the curiosity to uncover that grew bigger.

Finally he got dressed up in a Grey Suit and headed out after informing the house help that he would be returning late. He enjoyed his time at the dinner, meeting new colleagues and discussing all sorts of topics. But when he was handed a glass of the finest red wine, his mind went back a certain wine-dipped beauty from the previous night. He himself had no idea how long long he basked in that recollection before pulling himself back into reality. When he realised it, he shooed off his actions with excuse of being somewhat drunk.

Around 11 pm, he returned home. When he lay down on the bed, he tossed and turned around impatiently, all in vain. The previous night, weariness took over him and he slept soundly. But now he found the dead silence alien. Where were the random wails of children, the blood-boiling honks of vehicles? Funny how he had become habituated to the lifestyle he desperately wanted an escape from. Uneasy, he walked to the balcony and leaned on the railing, admiring the shadowy darkness. It was a pity so many people did not see the beauty in dark colours.

He brought out the folding chair kept nearby, and positioned it so that when he leaned back in it, his head would rest on the balcony railing. Taehyung closed his eyes and remained in that position till he would get sleepy.

Jisoo, just two rooms away was in a similar predicament. This was one of those nights when her discomfort soared and she feared closing her eyes. She felt unguarded in the darkness, too vulnerable. Thoughts from her miscommunication with Minra swirled around in her head as well. So she walked into the balcony too, arranged the cushioned chair as she placed her cheek against the cold, polished wooden railing. The sight that was directly in front was a very attractive one: her oh-so handsome tenant.

All those deep pine forests faded in comparison to the visual of his perfectly perfect, smooth and unlined face. Jisoo found herself admiring it absent-mindedly as her fingers made pointless doodles on the chair's armrest. Over time, her eyelids grew droopy. Her area of vision diminished, but his face still occupied the spotlight. The deepest part of her conscience asked an honest, innocent question.

Do I want to have him?

Nah, I'm just getting to drowsy to imagine senseless rubbish. She dismissed the idea. And her figure slumped down, curling up as she dozed off in the open place. She arose in the same miserable posture, her back screeching with muscle pain, but the sleep was worth it all. And even if she didn't accept it, the moment before sleep reigned over was also worth it.

published: 19/8/22

1066 words

~sid.