Chapter 41: Real Horny at the Pool Party

Saturday | February 3rd, 2024 | 1:47 PM

If there's one thing that I'm grateful about Chaewon for, is the fact that she knows how to be ready for anything. When she reminded me about having to bring sunscreen, I immediately remembered the two bottles of sunscreen sitting underneath my sink back at my dorm. Now here I was, standing in the middle of Chungha’s apartment complex's parking lot with my hands on my head in disbelief.

"You forgot to bring some, didn't you," Chaewon said, her tone monotone. Her arms were crossed over her oversized white button-up, the ends were tucked into her blue denim shorts.

"I did," I confirmed, my head slowly moving.

"Unbelievable," Chaewon sighed, a small smile grew on her face as she started digging through her tote bag on her arm. After a second, her hand pulled out a pink bottle, and she waved it around, "Here, I knew you'd forget."

"Babe, you're a lifesaver," I thanked, a grin spreading on my lips. I leaned in and pecked her on her lips.

"Whatever," Chaewon muttered, a light blush spreading. She took my hand, her smaller palm intertwining with my own, and we started walking towards the apartment complex. Chungha's new apartment complex was definitely a lot different than her old place. For starters, this one had a nice community pool for residents and the whole area was a lot more open and spacious.

She officially moved in a few days ago, and we were here to celebrate her new living space. From what I know, Chungha and her roommate invited a few of their friends over to their new home to hang out, which, coming from Chungha, included me, Karina, and Ningning. Karina and I got special permission from Chungha to bring our significant others with us, to Ningning's lonely annoyance.

As we approached the complex, we could hear the faint noise of laughter and voices in the background.

"They must be already having fun," Chaewon pointed out, a soft laugh.

"Looks like it," I replied, the two of us heading straight for the building. We entered what seemed like a lobby, a bunch of tables and chairs scattered around, with a big television mounted on the wall. Chungha mentioned the first floor had a shared area that had a pool table, ping-pong table, and a kitchen for everyone.

We walked through the lobby and made a turn to the left, where the entrance to the actual apartments were. Chaewon pressed a finger against a button next to the doors, and within seconds, it buzzed, unlocking. As the glass doors opened, we walked through, and saw stairs to our left and right, leading to the second and upper floors, respectively.

"This is a really nice place," Chaewon said, looking impressed.

"Chungha mentioned that the apartments are nice too," I replied, my eyes searching the hallway as we stopped on the second floor. Thankfully, Chungha gave us directions to her room or else we'd be wandering around like headless chickens.

"12A, 12B, 12C, 12D," Chaewon listed, her eyes on the doorplates. We turned to the right and kept walking.

"This is 12D, and E. This is 12E, so this should be it," Chaewon trailed off, her eyes stopping at the door in front of us. I gave her a thumbs up and reached forward, knocking on the door three times. Even from outside the door, I can make out muffled voices and footsteps, growing louder and louder as the moment goes on.

The door opened and there stood Chungha, an excited look. She was wearing a cute black and white striped crop top, a pair of black high-waisted shorts, and black heeled sandals. "Minjae! You made it, I was just about to give the tour." Her eyes fell upon Chaewon, "Hi, I'm Chungha, Minjae's favorite at work. I finally get to meet the girl he's so whipped for."

"Ah," Chaewon shyly giggled, a red tint on her cheeks. "I’m Chaewon. It's nice to meet you, Chungha."

"Come on in, guys," Chungha waved us inside, a friendly smile. Chaewon and I followed her inside, and we took a quick look around the living space.

It was pretty spacious, the front door leading into a large combined living and dining room. The kitchen was separated from the rest of the rooms by a short, raised wall. The countertops were a light gray marble, and the cabinets and appliances were all white. To the right of the front door was a short hallway that led to the bedrooms and bathroom.

Standing in the middle of the kitchen was Ningning, Karina, and a short-haired guy just slightly taller than Karina. The two girls smiled and grinned at me, before exploding into excitement seeing Chaewon. "Hey! I'm so happy you came," Ningning squealed, her hands grabbing hold of Chaewon’s.

Chaewon politely smiled and said, "I'm happy to be here. Ningning, right?" She looked back at me, "Minjae might've already given me the rundown."

"Oh," Ningning blushed, her face surprised. "Did he say anything bad about me? He better not have."

"No," Chaewon giggled, a bright expression. "You're Karina, right? I'm Chaewon. You're really gorgeous," She complimented, a smile on her lips.

Karina grinned, an amused expression. She reached a hand out, "Thank you, it's nice to meet you. Minjae talks about you a lot." The two girls shook hands before breaking apart.

"The poor boy talks about you 24/7," Ningning dramatically complained, a sigh escaping her lips.

"I do not, not that I don't want to," I quickly added, giving my girlfriend an apologetic look.

"No, I understand," Chaewon assured me, with a small smile. "I'm such a catch."

"Damn right," I agreed, my hands wrapping around her waist and pulling her into a side hug. Karina turned back and grabbed hold of the other boy's hand, "And this is my boyfriend, Kwangmin."

"Hello," Chaewon waved, a kind expression. I stretched out my hand and shook his, "Hi, nice to meet you."

"Likewise," He greeted, his smile revealing dimples. He had a baby face, but the look fit him. Although, seeing him next to Karina made me wonder how he could've landed a girl like her. He was bland compared to Karina's bright aura and beauty.

"Okay, okay, let's go on with the tour, I want to show you around," Chungha ushered, her hands gesturing for everyone to follow her. She stepped around the kitchen and led us into the living room. A big U-shaped gray couch faced a flatscreen television. There was a coffee table in the middle, surrounded by some beanbag chairs and a small bookshelf with empty shelves.

There were a bunch of boxes in the corner, most of them labeled for the bedrooms, with the ones unlabeled probably filled with random miscellaneous things. The place was still a bit empty, and not decorated, but the furniture looked cozy and the atmosphere felt comfortable enough. I'd live here if I could.

"So, this is the living room," Chungha announced, a grin. "It's a bit bare, but it's got all the basic essentials." She walked around the coffee table and made a beeline to the short hallway. Once she was standing next to the hallway, she turned around, pointing a finger to her right, "Over there is the bathroom. It's got a decent-sized bathtub, and the shower is nice too." The first door she opened was to the bathroom. It was small but well-kept and had a clean vibe.

Her arm moved in front of her, and her index finger gestured forward, "The rooms are just down the hall. It's a pretty short hallway, but hey, it's all we need."

She moved in front of a closed door, "Now I won't show you my roommate's room but I'll show you mine." She turned the knob and pushed the door open, allowing us a look inside. Chungha had a nice bedroom, the walls painted a deep gray, with her queen-sized bed being the main feature. The bedframe and headboard were wooden, and her duvet set was white with black floral patterns.

To the left, near the windows, was her desk and chair, and next to it was her dresser. There was a vanity in the corner of her room, the white furniture matching the rest of the room. There was a closet opposite to the dresser, and next to the window were some floating shelves with a bunch of different stuff.

"This is really nice, Chungha," Chaewon complimented, her eyes scanning the room. Karina and Ningning were the first to step into the room, and Ningning was the first to jump onto Chungha's made bed.

"This is so nice," Ningning moaned, her face pressing against the pillow.

"Get off, you'll wrinkle the sheets," Chungha hissed, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Make me," Ningning retorted, a cheeky grin.

"I will, watch," Chungha threatened, her feet starting towards her bed.

"Okay, okay, I'm getting off," Ningning laughed, her hands raising in the air. Chaewon and I exchanged glances, both of us laughing at the situation. We walked over to the window and looked out. From her window, we saw the parking lot and surrounding area. The view was pretty decent, but the only bad thing about it was the fact that we had a full view of the dumpsters underneath us.

"I can see why you didn't open your blinds," I commented, an amused look.

"If only the dumpsters was just scooted over a few feet over, you'd be able to drop your trash straight from your window," Chaewon pointed out, a sigh.

"It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make," Chungha deadpanned, her tone sarcastic. I noticed a thin concrete trim just underneath the window, it must've wrapped around the entire building to signify floors.

"Where's the washer and dryer," Karina asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Down the outside hall," Chungha responded, a wave of her hand. "We share it with the other people on the floor. Thankfully there's multiple machines so we don't need to wait."

"That's weird," Karina muttered. "Don't most apartments have their own machines?"