The Babysitting Contract | j.jk

06 • breakfast

◦ ◦ ◦

My temple begins to throb in time with the pounding on my door, pulling me from my slumber.

Rosy streaks of orange and yellow wink out at me through the blinds. A quick glance at my newly-fixed phone only serves to spark a flame of irritation - it's almost seven thirty in the morning; a time when I should most definitely still be dead asleep.

Kneading a fist into my eye socket I reluctantly kick off my duvet. In my haste, my knee bangs against the bed post and it's all I can do to swallow a frustrated groan.

The knocking only grows more persistant as I hobble my way through the dim space, still unfamiliar with my room. By the time my hand is twisting the handle open, the banging is so loud that I fear it'll break the door itself.

Hugging my knee to my chest, I hop on one leg as I fling the door open. "What?"

The onslaught of light dazzles me and I stumble back, shielding my eyes in order to distinguish the tall figure before me.

With tuffs of hair sticking up at odd angles and lavender eyes, Jeongguk looks like he just crawled through hell and back. Toothbrush jutting from his mouth and tie hanging undone around his neck, he hurries to button up his white long sleeve, missing several holes along the way.

Upon seeing me he freezes, taking in my flimsy pyjamas with wide, innocent doe eyes. He's quick to wipe the expression, and though his cheeks are flushed a brilliant red, his glare turns dark, almost deadly - albeit it's now fixed somewhere behind my head.

"Why the hell aren't you dressed?"

I blink the film of sleep from my eyes. "I'm sorry?"

"Are you kidding me?" He yanks the toothbrush from his mouth. The prominence of his jaw tells me he's absolutely livid. "We have to go."

I scratch my head, struggling to wrap my sleep-laden mind around the situation. "Um, where exactly?"

Bracing his arms against the doorframe he leans in, close enough for me to see the flecks of gold in his eyes and feel his minty breath caress my face. "How on earth do you think the boys are supposed to get to school, hm? A rocket ship?"

School?

Oh.

My alarm. It's Monday morning and I forgot to set my alarm.

Jeongguk barks out a laugh but there's no humour in it. "We had a deal, Taehee."

Before I can think to defend myself, a loud crash sounds from somewhere downstairs. It's chased by a plethora of childish shouts and cries.

Jeongguk curses. With one last bitter look he's pushing away and racing down the hallway, just barely avoiding a mess of Lego that litters the hardwood along the way. Then he turns the corner and disappears.

Shit, shit, shit.

We're going to be late.

I throw myself back into the room with a whirlwind of commotion. Locating my uniform from my suitcase is easy enough but putting it on is a whole other story - a mouthful of toothpaste slops down the front of my blazer and my stockings rip up to my thigh in my haste to put them on. Papers scatter everywhere as I shove various folders into my bag. My toes pinch painfully as I jam my feet into my black slacks - and it's just my luck that I force on the wrong shoe per foot.