❝ HWANG MIYOUNG'S APARTMENT

@Jackson Wang ((Poke~))

@Jackson Wang "Jackson!" she wailed as she padded over to half-throw herself onto the younger male, "it's not fair that my effort doesn't match my success!" Miyoung wrinkled her nose at his comment, but chose to ignore it as she tossed her arms around, acting childish.

"So," she heaved a sigh as she slinked back to her position on the couch, "how was your day, oh-mighty Lord Wang?" Yawning, the secretary peeled off her stockings and threw them into a pile next to the coffee table. Maybe she should've been a bit more lady-like, but honestly - she couldn't imagine Jackson seeing her as a woman even if he forced himself to, so - eh. Manners, shmanners. She dove into the pile of cushions, settling on the fluffiest one.

"You know, have you been eating properly when I'm not at home? I've seen a lot of empty ramen cups and pizza boxes in the trash this month...I hope you're eating actual food for lunch, Jackson!" her chiding came out so much less harsher than it should have been as she ended it with another yawn. Instead of continuing like usual, Miyoung waved her roommate over, seating him down next to her.

"I'm going to use you as a pillow now and you're not allowed to say anything about it," she muttered - wow, she was really childish with this guy - it was surprising, "because you won't believe what a crappy and horrible phonecall I had with my dad on my way home."

Maybe she shouldn't tell him...but the thought just barely flitted through her mind before being tossed in the corners of her brain.

@Hwang Miyoung Who would have ever guessed that /he/, Jackson Wang, could be so dedicated (if that was even the right word) to anyone in any form. Honestly, it surprised him too whenever he thought about how long he'd known Hwang Miyoung. He was never the type to dwell too long upon his past, and also had an astonishing talent for ruining relationships in one way or another. But with her, it was different. No matter how long of intervals he would go without contacting her, he'd still somehow feel like he knew her all too well. Guess you can't underestimate the power of time. Or maybe she just knew too much about his past that he couldn't let her drift away in fears that she'd ever feel the urge to let the world know about all the embarrassing moments and occasions she'd witnessed.

He couldn't even recall how exactly their 'friendship' came to be. She was always the more responsible of the two. He, always the bad influence. And now, after all the years, they found themselves in quite different paths of life. For god's sake, she was a secretary at a trading firm while he was sidelined after an exhilarating course of meteoric rise to fame, extravagance, and media glory. Athlete by name, celebrity in actuality. But now that was done until who knows when. At least she wouldn't bother him or scold him about his life choices as much. As for Miyoung, Jackson had quite a few opinions about her. He'd always bother her for being so uptight and restrictive with herself, but there was truth behind the joking.

If her neighbors didn't think that they were related by blood, they'd probably mistake him for a lover of some sort. Even now, he was waiting in her own living room after letting himself in through the passcode-protected door. She wasn't even home yet. He fiddled with his phone, checking the time. In fact, she was late. Probably still doing work. Again, over-achiever or just uptight? Jackson couldn't decide.

Hearing the front door open, he watched as she finally arrived at her own home. Really, he didn't even get a chance to properly greet her, but he'd heard her request for assistance and he mumbled a few words of fake annoyance before rising from the sofa to move towards the kitchen. "Yes mam," he responded. Again, who would have imagined that he ever do something like put away groceries for someone else. Involving himself in the task, he glanced over to where she rested. "Long day at work? Maybe it's what you deserve for being such an over-achiever all the time," he told her across the room.

@Jackson Wang The plastic bags were digging into her fingers as she just barely managed to press the code into her keypad. As the door creaked open, Miyoung gave a relieved sigh and hauled herself in.

"I'm home!" she greeted, kicking off her shoes and half-throwing the groceries onto the couch, "Jackson, could you put these away?"

Her neighbors thought that she lived with her little brother. Well, they weren't completely wrong. They were basically related, although they weren't linked by blood, Jackson was as much her little brother as her actual little brother was. After all, they'd grown up together, living next to each other in their very normal, very average middle-class apartments.

Maybe they were closer than Miyoung was to her actual brother...she ruminated on the idea as she stretched out her stocking-clad legs onto the sofa. Whatever, it had been too long a day to contemplate on the issue of blood-ties vs friendships. She could still hear her sunbae shrilling into her ear.

"You can't use big, fancy vocabulary on the reports! Don't act so superior just because you're a Yonsei graduate!" she mocked, pulling her hair loose from its ponytail, "it's not my fault that you don't know what 'allocate' means, you jealous half-wit."

She let her eyes close for a moment before realizing that she needed to start dinner. Ugh - as much as she loved to cook, every muscle in her body ached.