[M] fifteen (1/1)

For the past couple weeks or so, Myungsoo couldn't help but take note of how content Soojung was. Of course, she was still curt in her interactions with him, but he could still see the subtle change in her. After all, this was the woman he loved enough to shed his image and make a complete desperate fool of himself. He still winced when he thought about their reunion. In all seriousness, Myungsoo was not expecting Soojung to forgive him so quickly. That would be completely absurd given what a complete and utter douche, jackass, fuckface, and every other possible insult on the planet he had been to her. She had basically given herself to him, opened up to him about everything that she wanted to hide and he basically took a giant shit on all of it and then left her. While he couldn't forget her, he at least found some solace knowing that she could not forget him either. Emotions were complicated that way; while she obviously resented him with great reason, Myungsoo could still see how he affected her when he entered the room. The nostalgia of old feelings always seemed to arise when they were together and he was almost positive that deep down, she still loved him. It was just the issue of time and Myungsoo was willing to wait for her. He didn't know when she would finally forgive him, but he would wait as long as it took. Was he worried that someone else would take her from him? Not in the least. Soojung was a closed book and Myungsoo was the only person that had cracked her open (of course, he fucked up and now she has closed off once again) after a lot of work and time. His mind had considered Kim Jongin as a rival for a brief period of time, but rumors were circulating that he was pretty much set to marry Kang Seulgi. After all, both families were very close and it was well known in their community. Even if Jongin had any sort of affections for Soojung, it would hardly matter.However, Myungsoo was now a little worried. Soojung was acting like how she did during the first few months when they began dating: happy. Soojung was a lot of things, but she was rarely truly content, given her circumstances. Myungsoo would offer to pay the debt for her, but Soojung's pride would make her take his gesture the wrong way and she would only grow angrier at him. Being poor and proud was not a good mix. Rubbing his nose, Myungsoo sighed as he waited for the elevator. He couldn't let his mind wander at work. He was already too busy and adding Soojung to his plate wouldn't benefit him in any way. The elevator finally made it up and the doors slid open. Stepping inside, Myungsoo pressed the button for the lobby. "Hold the door!" Soojung burst into the elevator just as the doors were closing and upon seeing him, her eyes smoldered for a few seconds before switching back to their usual icy stares. "Soojung." "Yes?" Myungsoo was a little surprised that her usual rigid "what" was replaced by a calm and even polite "yes". Something was certainly wrong. "Are you feeling alright?" Soojung looked at him and tilted her head. "Yes, I feel fine." Myungsoo was stunned. She hadn't looked at him without malice in the longest time and it twisted his stomach in knots. A sudden text notification tone sounded in the empty elevator and Soojung dug her phone out of her purse.Watching her out of the corner of his eye, Myungsoo could see the smallest tinge of a smile pulling at the corners of her lips as her pale cheeks colored prettily.  *** Soojung leaned away from Jinri as the latter inspected her face closely. "You've been acting awfully weird lately," Jinri remarked. Soojung bit her lip and swatted Jinri away with a hand. "You're just imagining it." "No, I'm not." "Yes, you are." "Alright, fine, fine. When you're ready to tell me about him, I'll be waiting," "Will you please get outta here?" "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow night then," Jinri rolled her eyes and packed up the last of her things."See ya." Turning back to the mirror, Soojung carefully applied eyeliner to her tired eyes. Was she happier? Perhaps. Sooyeon had made a full recovery and was able to work again and now that Soojung was working as a receptionist, they were well on their way to paying off their crushing debt. In a way, Soojung had to be thankful to Myungsoo. No way would she have been able to land such a job given her lack of education and experience without him. Perhaps she really should thank him properly. He had been keeping his distance and was polite towards her. She certainly has not forgiven him, but... perhaps in the future she might be able to. There was obviously also Jongin. Soojung was still getting used the feeling of dating, having only dated one person her whole life a very long time ago. They'd been meeting up on a regular basis to go out. Sometimes it was to a restaurant and other times it would be a movie. They frequented the batting cage and Yunho even knew who she was at this point.Contrary to what she thought, Jongin never made a move on her or even indicated that he wanted to sleep with her. It never went beyond kissing. Truthfully, she was a little frustrated. Sometimes, when she was with him, she wanted it. Bad. She'd cut off all her other flings and aside from the physical withdrawal that was hard, Jongin made her feel all hot and bothered in more ways than one.At the same time, Soojung supposed she was grudgingly thankful that he was being a gentleman. She hadn't done it with someone she had feelings for in a long time. "You're seeing someone, aren't you?" Soojung nearly dropped her tray when Jiyong suddenly walked into the bar and grabbed a bottle of scotch. "What?" "Don't try and fool me. My wisdom is beyond your years." Jinyong tapped his head. "Can it, old man." Soojung snapped."Who's the lucky guy?"Soojung glared at him. "Or woman? What? For all I know, you could swing both ways. Either way, it's cool." "I could swing from Korea to Amsterdam and still not tell you." Jiyong shrugged, "Whatever. So whose the guy?""It's Kim None-Of-Your-Fucking-Business."Jiyong returned her glare, "Is this any way to talk to the guy who lends you his extensive closet for dates?" Soojung sighed, "Perhaps not. Sorry." "Alright, I honestly don't even give a fuck who the son of a bitch is, but if he ever does anything, you let me know," Jiyong replied. "What? You gonna pound on him?" Jiyong scoffed. "As if. You think I can afford to get these hands and clothes dirty? I got some friends who can." Soojung smiled. Jiyong was rough around the edges, but he really cared, "Thanks, boss." "Yeah, yeah, now get outta here and get to work." The rest of the night was mostly uneventful, with Soojung serving her regular customers. That is, until the very end. Soojung was just about to get ready to go home a bit earlier, seeing as all her regulars had already come and gone and there usually weren't any new customers so close to closing time. "Krys." Jiyong poked his head into the dressing room and pointed to her, "Not just yet." "What?" Soojung whined as she snapped her hoop earrings back in. "Last one. Promise." "Can't you get another one of the girls to do it?" "Nope. Asked for the most popular and well..." Soojung grumbled in response. When fresh meat came in, Jiyong always had her give them the general gist and tour before they chose a girl that they would deem their "regular". Getting her usual tray ready with whiskey and scotch, Soojung strutted down the hall to where her customer was waiting. Walking in, Soojung almost wanted to stifle a giggle at the man sitting with his arms spread on the top of the couch leaning against the wall and his shiny loafers propped up against the glass table in the meant for the drinks. He popped open the gaudy leopard print suit jacket he was wearing to reveal a white open-collared shirt, which apparently wasn't enough because he had a gold chain dangling from his neck. "Krystal, is it?" Soojung smiled and nodded, "Yes, I am."It was surprising how well they could get along without exchanging names. Most dudes always wanted to give their names and receive a name, but Soojung and the man got along just fine with him calling her some sort of pet name like "baby" or "doll" and her not calling him anything. As for the dude himself, he was eccentric, to say the least. He was smug and the kind of guy that lived the fuck-bitches-get-money kind of life. He wasn't wearing a shred of anything that wasn't brand named and he could handle his liquor.It was roughly ten minutes before time was up when the man downed the last of his drink and stood. "Well, it's getting late, doll. I gotta take off." "Of course." Soojung heaved a fatigued sigh before completing her obligatory ending line to each newbie. "I hope you've had a good evening and will plan to return." The man cocked a grin. "Count on it, sweetheart. I'll see you around."  *** "Any movie in mind?" Krystal shook her head, "Not really." Jongin closed the door behind him, racking his brain for a potential movie as he threw his coat onto the couch. The sudden trill of Krystal's cellphone rang throughout his apartment. "Shit, that's my sister. Give me a sec," she muttered as she darted into the kitchen. It was one of their movie dates, but unlike usual, it was on a work night. It was already past 2 AM and Jongin had just picked Krystal up from the cabaret club following a shift. He hated seeing her on that side of town and hated thinking about what kind of dickwads she'd spend her night entertaining and how they'd put her into their fucked up fantasies. He knew that this was something he could never talk her out of (he'd tried), but she was adamant in keeping her job there, so Jongin decided to leave her be. She was tough, he supposed, but he still didn't like it. As he waited for the TV to set up, his eyes wandered over to Krystal. Daon?Soeun?Mina?Jongin studied Krystal's figure pace inside his kitchen as she spoke into the phone. He kept trying to pin a name to her face, something that would suit her. He kept drawing blanks. "Sorry about that." Krystal muttered as she flopped onto the couch, "What're we watchi