𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃

4. Bazar Carnival

"Okay," I drag out as he finger-combs his dark-cocoa bangs.

He looks as if he's about to fall asleep standing: eyes pretty much closed and his back barely upright, before he sputters out, "Why did you name your cat, Dust?" [Meonji = Dust in korean]

It's too difficult to hold back laughter at the amount of concern this boy contains for such a silly question.

Someone could mistake him for being tipsy right now if they didn't know he was underage.

"My ex-husband actually named her. I guess because she's gray."

He widens his eyes toward me, freezing in place after only paying attention to my first statement.

"You're divorced?" His words are sudden and abrupt, surprising me a little since he seemed so out of it moments ago.

"Yeah." I fidget uncomfortably.

He transitions his shocked gaze to a softer one, realizing he might be embarrassing me. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were in high school or something."

I lean against the arm of the couch to take off my god-awful heels. Jungkook still stands a few feet from me—arms crossed, his uniform blazer draped over one, and an indecipherable expression on his face.

"I think I'll take that as a compliment," I smile.

His mouth twitches up. Then he utters a quick goodnight before heading next door.

...

For a few weeks Jungkook would come over after school, do his homework, feed Meonji her medicine—cat-sit her. I either interviewed for jobs I didn't want, or went on more dates with Hyunjoo.

It's been a little while since the last time I saw either of them. We've all been pretty busy with our own lives.

Hyunjoo's decided to go on a tropical vacation with his girlfriend. Which, at first, made me scream into my pillow for three days. But I think I'm coming to terms with it. Very, very slowly.

Meanwhile, cat-nanny Jungkook has been preoccupied with college visits and homework. The kid's pretty much a schoolaholic I've come to realize.

Today I'm supposed to go the Annual Spring Fair with Lisa so that I can finally rant to her about how much I hate my ex-husband.

I step into the café, searching for Lisa who, to my surprise, is still in uniform.

Rushing to the front counter, I don't hesitate to interrogate her. "What are you doing?" I inquire fairly loud. "We're still going to the fair right?"

She remains busy, filling up coffee machines and wiping down the workstation. "Yes, of course. Well, you are. There's no one to take my shift today, I'm sorry." She comes over to the register to face me, eyes soft and sympathetic.

"I'm not going if you're not. I hate fairs." I cross my arms, trying to hold back as much sass as I can.

"Fairs aren't that bad. They're fun-"

"With other people," I finish for her, still annoyed that this was suppose to be my chill day—without Hyunjoo, or store managers, or anyone else I normally have to deal with.

"Go with someone else then."

"Lisa, I don't have any other friends."