xliii.
"Why do you smell like my baby cousin?" Mira muttered softly as she stopped writing. She didn't mean to sniff him but when Jungwon reached out for his bag across the floor, the girl got a quick sniff. And he smelled good.
The two teenagers sat on the floor by the bed in Mira's room, already washed up and fully dressed in their pajamas. Jungwon wore a dark blue pajama that belonged to her older brother, Jeon Kiha, who left for college. Since the weather was still stormy, the boy had no other choice than to stay over for the night.
Unless he was willing to bike himself home and fall sick the day after, unable to attend school tomorrow.
JUNGWON:
Can I stay over at a friend's
house? It's raining.
MOM:
Who?
JUNGWON:
Mira.
MOM:
Who is that?
JUNGWON:
Another close friend of mine.
YANG JIHYE:
Mira as in Jeon Mira??
YANG JIHYE:
You're staying over at her house?
Mom, you're allowing this?
MOM:
Wait who is Mira? I have never
heard of her before?
MOM:
She is a girl, right?
JUNGWON:
Yeah...
MOM:
How do I make sure you won't
do anything weird to her?
YANG JIHYE:
I'm more surprised why Won
decided to stay over at a girl's
house when he could just stay
over at Ni-ki's.
JUNGWON:
His house is 20 minutes away.
Again, it's raining heavily.
MOM:
Are you sure you won't be a bother
to Mira's parents, Jungwon? I don't
want them to be burdened by you
staying over so suddenly.
MOM:
Give me her parent's number.
JUNGWON:
I don't have their number-
YANG JIHYE:
Isn't this your first time at a girl's
house, won? You haven't told us
about her too. I only saw her thru
social media.
JUNGWON:
you know Mira??
YANG JIHYE:
OF COURSE, hello?? We're
mutuals but I didn't know you
were close friends with her???
JUNGWON:
...so I can, right?
MOM:
Just don't do anything stupid.
Give me her mom's number.
JUNGWON:
I don't have her number!
MOM:
Then ask???
DAD:
What's happening? I didn't read
the messages and I'm too lazy to
scroll up.
DAD:
Also can one of you take the key
off from the door? I'm coming
home in a few hours.
read, 06:57 PM.
That was Jungwon's conversation with his family a few hours ago.
"What?" He looked at Mira, who was looking elsewhere as she refused to meet eyes with him, afraid that her question weirded him out.
The boy, however, assumed she was complimenting him. He was not a big fan of perfumes or cologne, he preferred body mists with a soft-like smell similar to that of a baby. It was easing to the nose and not too strong of a scent.
"I heard that," Yang Jungwon lets out a small smile. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"The former..."
Time was ticking and soon enough the clock strikes eleven. This would normally be Mira's bedtime but during exam week or when a friend was sleeping over, she would force herself to stay up longer than usual. She lost track of how many times she yawned that night, it was too frequent to count.
Nonetheless, Mira found herself laying on the bed on her side, lazily looking down at Jungwon who still sat on the floor with his books laid out on the wooden floor.
"Aren't you sleepy? Or tired?" Mira lazily questioned, sensing her eyes getting droopy as she watched him study for the next couple of minutes. She tried to keep them open to converse with Jungwon more. A rumbling thunder came, but not too loud.
"You can sleep first if you want," Jungwon insisted as he looked up, noticing how the girl was silently watching him work. They made eye contact, but he broke it off to resume studying. "You can't sleep with the lights on?"
Mira buried herself under her duvet, staying in there for a few seconds before peeking her head out only to find Jungwon staring at her. She covered herself inside the duvet again. "I can just do this," Her voice came out muffled, but he was able to understand considering how quiet it was.
"Okay, good night," The male spoke, averting his focus back to studying.
It hadn't been that long when her head popped back out, catching his attention. "It's too hot, I don't like it there," She flipped over, burying her face on her pillow.
Mira heard a light switch, followed by another light switch — twice in a row. She lifted her head, finding her surroundings darker than before. The only light illuminating the room was now her night light situated on the bedside table, where the boy was standing by. Another rumble came.
"You can sleep now," He smiled.
Mira watched as Jungwon cleaned up their books on the floor, placing his stuff inside his bag and hers on her study table. He then approached the door when the girl spoke, "You're sleeping outside?"
"Yes—"
A ringtone interrupted them.
It was certainly not the kind of ringtone music Mira always hear when she received a call. It was different, indicating it belonged to Jungwon. He looked at the screen, some of his features illuminated by the brightness as he clicked a button before placing his phone on his ear.
"Hello? I'm about to go to sleep, why?" He spoke, glancing at the sleepy girl. "No, she's—" A sudden loud thunderclap made its arrival as Jungwon jumped, startled. Mira lets out a loud shriek at the sound as she covered her ears. "I need to go. See you tomorrow, sis."
Without much thinking, Jungwon came to her aid. Her eyes were shut as her breathing became uneven. He called out her name gently, his voice making her look up. Mira ignored the way he held her hand or the way he was crouched down beside her bed. The only thing she focused on was his presence.
Another loud rumble came, but he had already placed his hands over her ears.
"Stay, please."
Jungwon looked at her, surprised. He wanted to stay — at least to comfort her when another thunder arrive, but would it be appropriate for a girl and a boy to sleep together in the same room? Alone?
"Why is it so loud?" She whimpered, only increasing his worries. Before he could even whisper comforting words to her, the bedroom door swung open as Mira's mother marched in.
She saw the way Jungwon was holding onto her hand tightly while the other was resting on her ear, his thumb moving back and forth on her temple. Mrs. Jeon would coo at the sight but now isn't the right time. "Are you okay, sweetie?"
A shake of her head.
"Do you want me to stay here?"
Another shake of her head, her eyes staring directly at her mother's.
"Jungwon, can you stay until she falls asleep?" Mrs. Jeon asked, looking at the boy who nodded his head. Mira was a deep sleeper after all. Once she gets to dreamland she won't hear the thunder anymore. That was his priority for now. "Thank you. Mira, I'll leave you with Jungwon, okay? If you need me, call me. I'll keep my phone on."
Her mother placed a hand on his shoulder before standing up and walking towards the door. She gave a final glance at the teenagers before closing the door softly, "Good night, you two."
YOU ARE READING
second lead. | 정원
Teen Fiction𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐖𝐎𝐍. in which two characters thought they can be their crush's end-game, only to realize they were the second lead all along. who would have thought they would end up making their own story? "i guess we're both the second lead in their s...
