[005], aera and sunghoon the asshole

HISTORY was boring, for once in Aera's life. She had a massive headache and was slumped over her desk as her history professor droned on about something. Aera thinks it has something to do with the Crusades. She and the rest of her classmates had the privilege of receiving a new professor two weeks after the semester started because their original professor gave birth. Yeah, Aera's more than happy for her old professor! But, seriously, she hates the substitute.

Especially now, when he announces this next assignment will be done in pairs. Immediately, Aera searches for Isa, who was already looking for Aera. They both share a grin and Aera gathers her books up, just like the rest of the students around her, in preparation to move over to Isa. "And, I already have the partners picked out," Professor Lim calls out, halting all conversations and movements. There's a thick silence and annoyed glances shared between the students in the lecture room.

"Kim Aera and Park Sunghoon."

You have got to be joking. Aera sinks further down into her chair. She's thinking about tucking herself underneath her desk and willing the ground to swallow her whole. She can't take being partnered up with Park Sunghoon. If only Professor Jang were here, then Aera would be sitting with Isa right now, gossiping.

Instead, Park Sunghoon takes the seat beside Aera.

"What are you doing here?" Aera asks moodily.

Park Sunghoon shoots Aera a look. She ignores it. "I thought you were majoring in Marine Biology?"

"Can't a science major take History as an elective?" Sunghoon fires back, an eyebrow raised.

Aera scowls. "Whatever."

"I'm actually majoring in Psychology," Sunghoon continues, flicking through his notes.

"I see," Aera says, "you wanna get the certificate that allows you to professionally judge people? As if you don't already do it."

Park Sunghoon scoffs, "I hate Professor Lim. I can't believe he partnered me up with you."

"The feeling is mutual," Aera responds. "So, where do we wanna do this? We can go to the library."

Sunghoon crinkles his nose, "not the library. I hate it there. It's too quiet."

Aera rolls her eyes. "Fine. We're not going to my dorm, though."

"That's fine, I wasn't going to suggest your shit-hole anyway."

Aera kicks Sunghoon's shin. "That's a shitty thing to say, we all can't be like you, Mr. Ice Prince."

Sunghoon huffs, "I wasn't wrong. The dormitories here suck. Let's go back to my place, it's far more comfortable and we'll easily get through this assignment faster."

"Why the fuck would I want to go to your dorm? Is this you trying to lure me into your bed? Sorry, Sunghoon, but you're not my type," Aera scoffs, rolling her eyes.

Sunghoon squints at Aera, judging her so deeply Aera wants to melt into the ground. She hates being judged by someone who looks like that. How can Park Sunghoon be so attractive, yet the biggest asshole simultaneously? It'll never make sense to Aera. "Okay, there are so many things wrong in that sentence. First of all, why the fuck would I live in a dorm? And second of all, aren't you into assholes?"

"Don't tell me you live with your parents," smirks Aera, "and, I'm not into assholes, Sunghoon, otherwise I'd be all over you right now," her smirk deepens and she leans in, pulling on her bottom lip with her teeth as she stares up at Sunghoon through her eyelashes, "do you want me to be all over you, Hoonie?"

Sunghoon gulps and pushes Aera away by her shoulders, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks. Aera giggles and runs a hand through her hair, "trust me when I say: you're not my type."

Sunghoon clears his throat and finally faces Aera again, except this time he looks less like an asshole. "I live in an apartment, I moved out of the dorms as soon as I could."

"Ah, okay," Aera shrugs, "that's fine. As long as you don't kidnap me or something."

Sunghoon scowls and the bell rings, "do you always make everything harder than it needs to be?"

Aera stands and swings her backpack onto her shoulder, waiting for Sunghoon to make room for her to pass. "It's one of my natural talents, Hoonie."

Sunghoon's scowl remains on his face. "You're so annoying, Aera."

"Tell me something I don't know! Let me pass, please, I have elsewhere to be rather than here with you." Aera attempts to shoulder past Sunghoon, but he remains rooted to the ground, his scowl and glare drilling Aera to a halt.

"Come back to my place," Sunghoon says.

There's a pregnant pause. "What?"

A blush crawls up Sunghoon's face and he shifts awkwardly. "No, I mean — if we go to my place, we can get started on this project and finish it quickly, and that way we won't have to be around each other for longer. The quicker we finish, the quicker I don't have to be around you."

Aera bites her lip, thinking. She shrugs, "sure. That's good thinking, for once." She then frowns and leans closer to Sunghoon, rising slightly on her toes to match their eye level. "You're not kidnapping me, are you? Because if you are —"

Sunghoon's scowl returns and he grabs Aera's wrist, pulling her out of the lecture hall. "Shut the fuck up." His hand remains wrapped around Aera's wrist as he pulls her off-campus and to the parking lot, only letting go of her wrist when they stand in front of a flash car.

Aera laughs. "Of course, I should've expected this."

Sunghoon shoots Aera a look as he unlocks the car, "what do you mean?"

Aera gestures to the black Range Rover. "This."

Sunghoon shoots Aera another confused look and she gives up, opening up the door and sliding into the passenger seat, glancing around the flash inside of a Range Rover. An amused smile crosses her face, especially at the smell of the Range Rover: rich and refined. Buckling up, Aera chuckles, amused. "It seriously feels like I'm being driven to my demise."

Sunghoon's hands tighten around the steering wheel, but he says nothing and puts the car in reverse.

The car ride is silent and Aera doesn't mind it. She stares out the tinted windows and hums softly to herself, before pulling out her phone and sending a couple of texts to Yena who instantly responds, asking Aera to keep her updated. Aera also tells Yena the exact same thing when she finds out Yena's hanging out with Heeseung.

Aera stifles her amused laugh as Sunghoon pulls up to the even flashier apartment complex. Aera really wonders if what is said about the Parks is true. Just being in the Range Rover and entering the flashy apartment complex after Sunghoon had parked in a parking spot reserved for his apartment number, made Aera believe Park Jongseong and Park Sunghoon were the richest kids at their college.

The elevator was stuffy, especially with Aera pressed up against Sunghoon as people fill the small square contraption. Aera's silent for most of their journey to Sunghoon's apartment, but after entering, Aera finally laughs. "So, I guess there's some truth to the rumors about you and the others, huh?"

Sunghoon slides off his shoes, "what do you mean, Aera?"

"That you're rich, along with Jongseong."

"And Jake," Sunghoon says, a stupid smirk on his face as he leads Aera through their fancy apartment, "he's also rich. He got a scholarship to come here." He leads her down a small corridor which opens out into a large living area.

Aera honestly regrets ever disliking Jake and his cronies because holy fuck. Sunlight streams into the room through the massive glass panes, and the sliding glass which leads to a patio. Sunghoon, Jay, and Jake are fucking rich, Aera deducts. There are two couches pushed up against the cream walls and even though they look old with age, Aera wants to dive on top of them because they seem so warm and comforting, especially with the nicely placed throw pillows and blankets thrown across the back of the couch to protect it from the sunlight. Pressed against the wall on the opposite sits a flash as fuck flat screen T.V. Aera has to restrain her gasp.

Sunghoon turns sharply and stands in front of white doors matching the aesthetic of the apartment that holds blurry glass panes. Aera then finds out that the said doors were retractable. What the fuck. This isn't a fucking apartment, it's more like a penthouse. The door retracts to reveal the kitchen.

"Holy shit, what's the scholarship for?" The kitchen was wide, a white marble counter sat off-center, sharing the wide room with a long, wooden, dining table that had matching wooden chairs. Silver barstools complement the white marble counter along the outside, mail and other papers lay about the marble counter, along with Macbook chargers and other rich-people-things. A vase of flowers sat in the middle of the dining table and another sat on the marble counter. On the right side of the counter lay the kitchen; a sink, a refrigerator, and a large pantry that was, surprisingly, full of all sorts of things; spices, biscuits and cookies, slices and brownies, flour, eggs, cereal, bread — anything a normal pantry should have. Cupboard litter the walls and lay within the counters. There was even a fucking dishwasher. And oven. And stove.

Sunghoon opens the fridge and Aera peers in over Sunghoon's shoulder. Her eyes widen, finding the fridge also full of essentials. Aera honestly feels like putting on a fake smile and attempting to be good friends with Sunghoon, Jongseong, and Jake. Then, she'll have infinite availability to their fridge and pantry.

"You know, you can call Jongseong, Jay, right?" Sunghoon muses, picking out a peach-flavored drink and shutting the fridge, not bothering to offer anything to Aera.

"Really? I thought only his friends call him that," Aera says offhandedly, still staring at the kitchen her mother would kill to have.

Sunghoon snorts and opens the peach-flavored drink, "no one calls him Jongseong, Aera. I'm pretty sure you're the only one. Are you that Korean?"

Aera scowls, reaching out to punch Sunghoon on the shoulder. She places down her things on the counter, "where's the bathroom? I need to pee badly."

Sunghoon's stupid smug smile remains on his face and he gives Aera directions. He probably knows Aera's going to spend her sweet time snooping through the apartment — no, penthouse. And Aera does just that, she peers into the wide rooms containing beds of fucking kings and walk-in closets, flashy desks, and wide windows. Aera finally reaches the bathroom and feels like giving up on her dreams. Maybe she should become a trophy wife because this bathroom is to die for. A massive bathtub stands at the back, with a massive shower standing next to it. Then, there's a massive sink and window lining the wall opposite to Aera. Aera bets the shower is fucking awesome and has probably been used for other things as well.

The toilet itself is in a different room and is probably the smallest room in the house. It only holds a toilet, but yet, it's still flashy as ever.

Aera finally makes her way back into the flashy kitchen. Sunghoon leans over the marble counter, scrolling through his phone and drinking his peach-flavored drink. "You're back. Enjoy looking through our apartment?"

Aera rolls her eyes and slides onto the barstool opposite Sunghoon. "This isn't a fucking apartment, Sunghoon, it's a penthouse."

Sunghoon shrugs, "you could say that since we're on the top floor. Anyway, someone called 'my rich brother Seokjin,' called you while you were snooping."

Aera reaches for her phone to find a missed call from her rich brother, Kim Seokjin. "Oh, I'll call him later."

There's a pause and Sunghoon seems lost in thought. "Your, 'rich brother Seokjin,' wouldn't be the Kim Seokjin, right? The multi-millionaire who's a part of the big seven in South Korea?"

Aera grins like a Cheshire cat, "why do you care, Hoonie?"

Sunghoon wrinkles his nose, "I'm just curious."

Aera sighs, "yeah, he's my brother."

"You're joking, right?" Sunghoon exclaims, clearly very surprised to hear that fact.

Aera frowns, "no I'm not. Why would I be joking, Sunghoon?"

Sunghoon shrugs, "I don't know. I just didn't expect it."

Aera has a feeling she won't like what falls out of Sunghoon's mouth next, but she asks anyway. "What does that mean?"

"I mean, he's Kim Seokjin, a millionaire businessman who like, has his entire future planned out for him and you're. . ." Sunghoon falters, "you're just someone I wouldn't expect to be his sibling, y'know?"

"No," Aera's voice was cold, "I don't."

"I meant, like, he's passionate and driven, and you're. . ." Sunghoon stops himself, but it's already too late. He's insulted Aera even if he didn't really mean to.

Aera gathers up her things. She's not in the mood anymore — she just wants to go back to her dorm and look at her broke bank account. "I think I should go," Aera says, avoiding eye contact with Sunghoon.

"Aera —"

"I just realized I have an overdue library book I should probably return before I get fined, since I'm, y'know, not driven enough to do things like that."

"Aera what does that —"

Slinging her back over her shoulder, Aera offers a half-assed wave. "See ya, Sunghoon." She doesn't wait for him to walk her to the front door, she does it herself. Aera slips on her shoes as quickly as she could, hating how her eyes seemed to sting. How could she let someone like Sunghoon get under her skin like this?

Opening the door, Aera finds a bewildered Jake standing with his arm outstretched. "Aera?"

Aera blinks rapidly and feels her cheeks burn. "Oh."

"Aera what are you —"

"Aera, hey, what's wrong — oh, hey Jake!" Sunghoon leisurely walks towards Aera and Jake. Aera seriously can't take this, she wants to leave this damned apartment — what was she thinking? Why did she tell herself it would be a good idea to befriend Jake and his cronies just because their apartment is fucking awesome?

"Can you move?" Aera mutters to Jake, "I need to go."

Jake steps away to let Aera past. "Thanks," she mutters. Her eyes stick to the ground, ignoring Jake's and Sunghoon's stare.

"Area are you seriously leaving? Come on, I didn't mean it —"

"Whether you meant it or not, it still hurt me, Sunghoon," Aera bites back, her eyes blazing as she stares back. "Being belittled like that hurts. I know I'm nothing like my brother, I've been told that by strangers for most of my life, but hearing it from you hurt more than the others." The stinging is back and Aera blinks rapidly again. "There's a fucking reason I never share anything about my family, Sunghoon, and you're the reason why."

Sunghoon stands silently in the doorway with Jake resting against the wall. Aera sighs and runs a hand through her air. "Look, I'll come by tomorrow, okay? You can get my number from Jungwon or someone."

As if on cue, the elevator at the end of the hallway dings open, Jungwon's voice flowing out, Jay's joining a bit later, answering Jungwon's question. Aera digs her fingernails into the plans of her hands. She doesn't say anything more and turns away, brushing past Jungwon and Jay who are left confused.

Aera steps into the elevator and turns to find Jake standing in the elevator as well. "How did you —"

Jake grins and holds up the car keys, "you need a ride home, right?"

"Yeah but —"

"Awesome." Jake cuts off Aera and rests against the railing in the elevator, pulling out his phone to pass the time as the elevator begins its descent. Aera's fingernails dig deeper into her palms.

Silence is loud between them both, even as they climb into a different car. This time, it's a red range rover, not a black one. Aera's not amused though, she's pissed off and annoyed. "Sunghoon's not usually like that," Jake finally says something halfway through their journey back to campus.

"I don't care," Aera responds sharply, "he insulted me." (Aera's usually not the one to hold grudges, that's Yena. But right now, Aera's feeling petty).

Jake sighs.

Aera removes her gaze from the window and instead, pins it onto Jake. She takes him in, the sunlight shining through the untinted windows, his pursed lips and eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses, another similar pair pushed up into his hair. His blue buttoned blouse and brown slacks. "Can you stop staring at me?" Jake's voice breaks Aera out of her reverie.

"Why?"

Jake adjusts his hands on the steering wheel, "you're making me nervous." His voice was quiet.

Aera rolls her eyes and gazes out of the window in front of her. "I don't — I —" Aera huffs heavily and sinks down on the comfortable leather seat. "I don't hate Sunghoon." Jake doesn't say anything, but he does send a brief glance over to Aera who was frowning deeply. "It just hurt to hear him basically insinuate I wasn't as passionate and driven as my brother — I don't even know why I'm explaining my feelings to you."

The silence remains heavy until Jake stops at a red light and he fully gives his attention to Aera who remained focused on the traffic lights. "How's your knee?"

Aera glances at her knee which was covered by her black jeans. "Fine. I still have the bandage on."

"Can I —" Jake cuts himself off and gestures through the air.

"Touch my knee?" Aera sounds incredulous, "why would you want to touch my knee?"

Jake doesn't respond and instead his eyes hold the answer for her, Aera finds a dark desire hidden within his eyes. Her breath catches and she immediately feels the tension within the car rise. Her heart quickens its pace and her throat doesn't long for air anymore. Jake inches closer and Aera does as well. She's unsure as to why she's moving, but she doesn't make any attempt to stop.

They jump apart though when someone honks their horn. "It's green. The light." Aera forces out from her dry mouth.

Jake presses on and the car jolts into action. "So, why two cars?" Aer asks, filling up the tense silence.

"Easier for us since Jay and I have soccer practice until late and Sunghoon goes ice skating at the crack of dawn most days."

"Ahh," hums Aera, nodding her head. "Why two are you wearing two glasses?"

"One for being able to see and the other for driving — apparently I need two," Jake shrugs, "I just listen to whatever my mom tells me."

Silence fills the car until Jake arrives back at campus. Unbuckling her seatbelt, Aera rests one hand on the car door while turning to face Jake, a small smile resting on her face. "Um, thanks," she says gently, avoiding eye contact with him.

"No problem," Jake says, waving his hand through the air, "I didn't mind, seriously."

Aera nods her head and opens the door, stepping out of the Range Rover but turning at the last second, this time looking at Jake. "Thanks for the other night too, I never got to say thanks. So, thank you for helping me out with. ." Aera gestures to her knee and Jake smiles widely.

"I didn't mind, Aera."

Aera shoots Jake one last smile before shutting the car door and walking away, her heart pumping loudly.