Entry #11

"So, are you going to tell us where and how you got that hickey?" Ningning, always the blunt and unfiltered one, spoke.

Aeri choked on the tea, nearly spilling it on the fresh clothes Minjeong had given her.

Karina arched an eyebrow, clearly amused by her flustered reaction. Minjeong patted Aeri on the back as she coughed the liquid out of her throat.

“W-what?” Aeri asked, between coughs.

Ningning, however, didn't let up. "Come on, don't play coy, unnie," she grins, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "You come over to Minjeong unnie’s place still wearing the fit from last night, saying that you were locked outside your apartment, hair and makeup messed up, and the painfully obvious hickeys on your neck.

“How are you sure that it’s a hickey? They could be mosquito bites for all we know,” Aeri retorted, pulling the zip of Minjeong’s high collar jersey.

“That must have been one big ass mosquito if it left a hickey that big,” Karina commented.

“Or a vampire,” Ningning replied.

“Y’all are ridiculous,” Minjeong rolled her eyes. “It’s obviously a leech.”

Karina and Ningning burst out in laughter.

“I take psychic damage from knowing all of you,” Aeri replied, clearly not amused.

Karina laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah, sweetie, we're not buying that excuse. That’s a hickey. There's no mistaking it."

Ningning just grinned, her eyes glittering with intrigue. "You're not fooling anyone, you know," she teased. "Tell us who the man is. We want all the juicy details. And it better not be from Mark. I don’t want blood on my favourite white hoodie."

“You really hate this guy, huh?” Minjeong’s eyebrows flew up.

“Correction: I hate emotionally incompetent men who are acting like toxic male leads in K-Dramas who think being a commitment-phobe is a personality.” Ningning turned back to Aeri. “So who was it? We want all the juicy details.”

Aeri hesitated at first before mumbling in her cup.

The girls leaned in, straining to hear her mumbled words. 

"Speak up, girl. Who's the lucky guy?" Karina asked

Aeri mumbled in her cup again.

“Oh, for crying out loud, unnie. Say it with your chest!” Ningning threw her head back and groaned.

“My neighbour,” Aeri finally spoke up, her cheeks now red.

The girl's reaction was immediate and explosive. Minjeong's eyes widen, her mouth dropping open in surprise. Karina looks like she's been hit by a truck, her face a mixture of shock and disbelief. Ningning, true to form, stood up, took out her phone and played ‘I believe’ from the Shrek Movie, while dancing like she was at church praising the Lord.

"You're messing with us, right?" Minjeong exclaimed, her tone a mix of astonishment and disbelief.

Aeri shook her head.

Karina found her voice, a bewildered smile spreading across her face. "Your neighbour? As in, the guy you spied on while he was banging some chick through your window?"

“For the last time. I wasn't spying,” Aeri rolled her eyes. “And Ningning, turn that shit off and stop dancing. You’re being corny and cringe.”

Ningning gasped, clutching her phone to her chest like Aeri had insulted her bloodline. “Cringe? Unnie, I am praising the universe and the Lord for not getting dicked down by a man who’s been collecting girlfriends and flings like Pokémon. This is a religious experience. ”

“You’re an atheist.”

“So? I’m legally obligated to celebrate. This is a miracle. PRAISE THE LORD!” Ningning continued dancing and sang the words “I believe” over and over.

“Hallelujah,” Karina joined in, waving her hand in solidarity.

“Don’t encourage her,” Aeri glared, throwing a pillow at Karina.

“Of all the songs,” Minjeong muttered, rubbing her temples.

“Is it too late to unsubscribe from this friend group?” Aeri asked in a deadpan.

"Absolutely not," Ningning yelled immediately, stopping her praise dance just long enough to point an accusatory finger. "The Lord has delivered you from the demon named Lee Minhyung and blessed you with a hot neighbour. You’re stuck with us until the rapture, my love.”

"Amen!" Karina shouted, dissolving into another fit of giggles.

“How did you end up in your neighbour’s apartment?” Minjeong asked. “You could have called either one of us to give you a place to crash until the keypad issue was sorted.”

“Well, Hide beat you to it, and since I needed just to forget Mark and the work party, I wasn’t exactly in the position to be choosy,” Aeri explained. “Plus, I didn’t want to be a bother.”

"So, you just went and got dicked down by Mr Hot Neighbour instead?” Ningning teased, her eyes shining with amusement. “Honestly, your coochie needed a palette cleanser.”

“Die,” Aeri growled, pointing a finger at her.

“Did he at least give you breakfast after that marathon sex?" Karina asked.

Aeri pressed her lips together as her face turned red.

Aeri stirred awake slowly, consciousness returning in fragments.

The first thing she registered was warmth — unfamiliar warmth, a solid chest pressed against her back, an arm draped lazily over her waist.

Then she felt something shift behind her.

"Morning, sweetheart," Hide’s voice murmured, still rough from sleep.

Aeri groaned, covering her head with a pillow.

Hide chuckled softly, clearly amused by her unenthusiastic morning demeanour. His fingers traced lazy patterns along her hip, featherlight and distracting.

"Not a morning person, I see," he teased.

She turned her head, squinting at him. "Why are you in my bed shirtless?"

His smirk widened.