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AREUM joined her parents and guests downstairs.

joy, jeongguk's mother, hugged her and asked if she remembered her, while mr. jeon shook her hand, asking about future plans and such.

'i hope you remember jeongguk, areum.', joy brightly smiled.

'yes, you two practically lived together when you were kids. and now he's a big fellow, joining a new firm and moving out.', mr. keum told his daughter.

'i actually don't remember much, i'm sorry.', areum smiled at jeongguk.

to which he replied with a tight lipped smile.

'enough chit chat, let's dig in!', nari announced.

areum smiled smugly.

chicken cordon bleu.
her favourite.

'so, you're an attorney?', areum asked.

'getting there.', jeongguk said, brushing his hair back.

fuck, he looks hotter than i remember him.

'doesn't that take a really long time...?'

jeongguk laughed, 'yeah, areum, i'm much older than you are.'

it was almost as if he said it in a warning tone.

areum scoffed, cutting her food into little pieces.

'what are you doing right now, doll?', joy asked.

'i'm in my senior year, mrs. jeon, just stoked about prom and graduation.'

'oh, how exciting! your mother tells me you're running for valedictorian?'

'yes!'

joy sighed, 'you've changed so much, areum. i remember when you were younger, you were so shy and never liked anyone except your mother and jeongguk.', she turned to her husband, 'do you remember how much he hated sharing his toys and food with the others.'

mr. jeon nodded, 'but areum was always an exception.'

'you two were adorable.', mrs. keum said, 'what did they call each other?'

'oh!', joy squealed, 'you were so tiny you couldn't pronounce jeongguk, so you used to constantly call him kookie.'

the two of them quietly laughed.

'what did he call me?', areum asked out of curiosity.

'areum was too hard for almost everyone to pronounce, especially baby kookie; he kept saying 'armie'.', nari explained.

'and then everyone started calling you armie!', joy added.

after dessert the elders went into the drawing room to smoke cigars and talk about old liquor, leaving areum and jeongguk alone.

___________________

'so, you knew me the entire time? even at the bar?', areum asked the really hot man standing in my kitchen.

jeongguk rolled up the sleeves of his white linen shirt. it had a chinese collar, leaving lots of room for areum to dream about littering his neck with love bites.

he helped her put the dishes back after she rinsed them.

'areum.', he sighed, 'i haven't seen you in years, i... you've obviously grown up and i didn't notice until you told me your name.'

areum | jjk ✓Where stories live. Discover now