Internal Affairs | Lee Haechan

Morning routine

The oversized black shirt slung against her figure as Jia found her feet naturally gravitating towards the balcony that was attached Haechan's living room. The view of the city was astonishing from this height, she could see the mountains, the sea and all the famous landmarks of Seoul.

She looked down at the road directly underneath, the apartment was situated in a calm suburban area. The sound of children on their bikes and laughing with their friends entered her ears as she people watched. At this time 7:08, people were scurrying off to work, school or college. A time that was filled with constant energy of people restarting their clocks on a new day.

"Hey beautiful" a groggy voice said behind her, voice as smooth as butter and the compliment as sweet as honey. She turned her head to see Haechan step out onto the balcony with her, the hickeys on his lower neck evident from the night before as he wore a loose white shirt and black basketball shorts.

"Hey you" she said, a small smile planting itself on her lips as she turned back to the view, eventually feeling his arms wrap around her torso, balancing the weight of his head with his chin on her shoulder as he stared out into the view as well.

Haechan was a late sleeper, which meant he was absolutely not a morning person, yet the last two mornings were filled with excitement as he woke up to her energy that was already alive and upbeat in the early morning. He rarely had time to even eat breakfast, let alone enjoy the view from his balcony, yet no matter how tired he was, he got energised from just being around her.

Plus, they fell asleep early enough considering that Jia couldn't handle much after Haechan teased her until she was too tired to even go all the way.

"You okay?" Jia asked, noticing him get quieter after they greeted each other, unaware that he was losing himself back into a slumber as he felt the warmth radiate off her body.

"You need a coffee" Jia said with a chuckle, nudging her shoulder slightly to make him become more alert and he whined in response.

"How are you not hungover?" Haechan asked, gripping his head in his hands, the sun blaring down on him only making it worse.

"You're hungover? How much did you drink?" She asked, grabbing his hand and pulling him back inside to the shade so he could stop fighting the sun which inevitably shone on a clear day.

"Not that much...maybe I really am getting older" he said with a sigh, sitting down at the dining table as he realised he was entering the prime years of his hangovers.

"Looks like it" she said with a chuckle, patting the top of his head lightly making sure not to make his hangover worse before making two cups of coffee for the both of them.

"But don't worry, I still remember last night very clearly" he said, shooting her a wink as she returned to the table with the coffee, butterflies swarming in her stomach as she heard the statement

"You gonna call in sick?" Jia asked changing the topic, setting down the mug in front of him while sitting on another chair and he smiled, thanking her quickly.

"You know I report to you right?" He asked and she formed an O shape with her lips, realising he was under her supervision.

"How could you forget about me that easily?" He whined again with a playful pout before taking a sip of his coffee, disliking how she drank hers with no milk or sugar before getting up to add his own flavour to it.

"You're still young" She said, smiling at him pouring sugar and milk into his coffee

"Some of us drink it for the taste, I don't know how you and Jaemin can get through a full cup of that" he said, shuddering at the fact their coffees usually tasted like battery acid

"Take the day off, it'll give me some time to focus on work for once as well" She said rolling her eyes playfully and he smirked

"I'll be back before you know it babe" he said, extending his hand onto the table for her to take and she did, not hesitating like she usually would. She was beginning to feel a lot more comfortable, as if this was beginning to look like the new normal for them.

"I should probably get going" She said, immediately being met with more whines from the boy who decided to stay home. She looked at him with a playful glare, knowing that she didn't have the same freedom as him and now it felt like he was just rubbing his day off in her face.

"Stay for a little bit longer, just a bit" he said, squeezing her hand before getting up from his seat, walking towards her and planting a small kiss on her lips, knowing that once she left he wouldn't see her again for a while since it was the weekend, and for once, Haechan was not happy about a weekend.

"Let me make you breakfast at least" he said, walking into the kitchen to make a quick breakfast, prolonging the time spent with her.

Jia wasn't one to complain about a man cooking her breakfast the morning after but she knew deep down that a real friends with benefits didn't include benefits beyond casual sex.

As Haechan returned and set the plate of fluffy scrambled eggs on the table, again he wasn't a master chef or anything but it'll do, she looked up at his eyes, biting her lower lip.

"Are you sure...what we're doing is a good idea?" She asked, nervously fiddling with her fingers and Haechan smiled at her constant need for reassurance.

"I don't see what's so bad about two adults consenting to casual sex without the burden of a relationship or the responsibility of hurting each other" Haechan said with a simple shrug, convincing himself that this was all it was.

"Well...what if one of us catches feelings?" She asked nervously and he narrowed his eyes at her playfully

"Are you starting to have feelings for me?" He asked, teasing her and she rolled her eyes at this.

"I don't think I could ever get feelings for you...you're too impulsive and...you're pretty mean sometimes" she said, sulking again about having to face Renjun today at work after the little stunt Haechan pulled last night in the bedroom.

"Well since I'm such a mean and horrible person, I guess you can make your own scrambled eggs" he said playfully with a scowl making her chuckle.

"Give yourself the weekend to think about it anyway and let me know" Haechan said with a smile and she nodded.

And the two left it at that, even though the question did raise a valid concern in the both of them.

Could they actually do it without catching feelings?

But neither one was going to answer it. Maybe it's because they would see how things go and think about it again in a few months, or maybe it's because they were already at that point but they couldn't bring themselves to admit it.