Chapter 7: The Hollywood Fall and a Shopping Spree

Waking up from a bizarre dream, I was immediately greeted by an unpleasant smell. It didn't take long to figure out what was going on. Rushing into the kitchen, I found Ji-yu standing in front of the stove, looking like a deer caught in headlights. She turned toward me, eyes wide with a mix of guilt and frustration.

"I tried again, Jun-ho. I was sure this time I could cook properly, but then… the smell just came out of nowhere. Believe me, I was totally prepared this time!" Ji-yu explained, clearly disheartened.

I tried not to laugh at how earnest she looked, so instead, I softened my tone and said, "It's okay. I know you're giving it your best shot."

She gave me a small smile, the kind that could almost make me forget the kitchen now smelled like a burnt offering to some ancient fire god.

"Why don't you go sit at the table?" I suggested, trying to save whatever dignity the kitchen had left.

Just as she was about to walk past me, her foot accidentally tangled with mine. Before I could react, Ji-yu tripped, and instinctively, I reached out to catch her. In an ironic twist of fate, instead of preventing the fall, I ended up falling with her. And then, as if we were the leads in some overly dramatic Hollywood rom-com, we landed with a thud on the floor her lips brushing against mine in the most clichéd, accidental kiss imaginable.

For a split second, it felt like time had frozen, and my mind couldn't process what had just happened. I shot up immediately, my face probably as red as a tomato at that point.

"Uh, um, I-I'll go cook now," I stammered, trying to act like nothing just happened.

Ji-yu was just as flustered, unable to make eye contact. "Y-yeah, sure," she muttered before awkwardly moving to sit at the table.

My heart was still racing as I turned toward the stove. Seriously, how does stuff like this even happen in real life? This was the kind of scenario you only see in cheesy movies except it happened to me, in my own kitchen. Fantastic. Just fantastic.

I focused on cooking breakfast, doing my best to forget about the incident. When it was ready, I placed everything on the table, and we ate in relative silence. I could feel the awkward tension lingering between us, but neither of us mentioned what had just occurred.

Once breakfast was done, I excused myself, eager to escape to the relative safety of college. On my way there, my mind kept drifting back to that weird dream I had earlier. Something about it felt... off. Almost too vivid to be a regular dream. But before I could think too deeply about it, fate decided to throw another curveball my way.

As I walked through the college gates, I suddenly spotted Annie my childhood crush walking in my direction. She flashed me a bright smile.

"Jun-ho! How's it going?" she called out, her voice as cheerful as ever.

I blinked in surprise, trying to act natural. "Oh, hey Annie. I'm doing well, what about you?"

"Same here," she replied, still smiling.

As we walked to class together, I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. It wasn't that I still had feelings for her after all, I was a married man now (crazy, right?) but it was just... weird. Especially considering the whole "I-was-her-chronic-crush" thing in the past. She was nice and all, but I'd sworn off relationships before, and now look where I am: married, and having awkward kitchen encounters with my wife.

When I arrived in class, my friends Li-wei and Min-jun immediately noticed Annie walking beside me. I could see the smirks forming on their faces from a mile away. These two knew all about my childhood crush on Annie, and they never missed an opportunity to poke fun at me for it.

The moment I sat down, they dragged me to the side, grinning like madmen.

"Yo, Jun-ho, is this why you've been so busy lately?" Min-jun teased, raising an eyebrow. "Couldn't find time for the boys, huh? Too busy chasing after your childhood sweetheart?"

I groaned, rubbing my temples. "No, it's not like that. I just bumped into her on the way here, that's all. There's nothing going on between us."

Li-wei, the notorious playboy of our group, smirked. "Yeah, sure. And I'm the King of England. C'mon, man. I thought you swore to be a lifelong bachelor? How come you're hanging out with Annie now?"

I shot him a look. "Listen, can we drop this? She's just a friend, and besides " I hesitated, wondering if I should remind them of the whole marriage situation. "Never mind. Let's just head to class."

But, of course, these two never knew when to stop. As we walked to the classroom, their teasing continued, and I tried to ignore it. When we finally got there, I was surprised to see Annie changing her seat. Instead of sitting in the front like she usually did, she moved to the desk right next to mine.

Oh no. What kind of game is the universe playing with me now?

Annie smiled at me as I sat down. "Mind if I sit here today?"

I blinked, caught off guard. "Uh, no... go ahead."

Li-wei and Min-jun exchanged knowing glances from the back of the class, snickering quietly. I sighed inwardly. This was going to be a long day.

During lunch break, Annie joined our group, which only fueled my friends' relentless teasing. As we sat down to eat, Li-wei leaned over and whispered, "Jun-ho, you better strike while the iron's hot. Opportunities like this don't come around often, you know?"

I rolled my eyes. "There's nothing to 'strike,' okay? We're just talking."

He gave me a playful nudge. "Yeah, sure. And I'm just eating because I'm 'hungry.' C'mon, man, you've got to at least make a move."

I glanced over at Annie, who was happily chatting with Min-jun, oblivious to the nonsense Li-wei was spouting. "She's not interested like that. Trust me, it's just casual."

But no matter what I said, my friends wouldn't stop. We ate lunch together, and despite the awkwardness, the day passed without any major incidents. I was relieved when classes finally ended, and I could head home.

When I got back to the house, though, something was off. Ji-yu wasn't there. I searched around, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Did she go out?" I muttered to myself.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed her number. After a couple of rings, she picked up. "I'm out shopping!" she said cheerfully.

Shopping. Of course. I should've guessed.

Not long after, I heard her pulling up outside. I went downstairs and opened the door to find her unloading a car filled to the brim with shopping bags.

I raised an eyebrow. "Again with the shopping?"

Ji-yu flashed me an innocent smile. "Well, I needed a few things, and you know how it is... one thing led to another."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "At this rate, we're going to need a second house just for all your shopping."

She pouted playfully. "Oh, come on, it's not that bad."

As we hauled in bag after bag of her latest purchases, I realized that no matter how bizarre or unpredictable my life had become, I wouldn't trade it for anything.