Country Bumpkin

Anna was planning to drag Yujun to the kitchen and interrogate him hard but Kiera stopped her. She was already irritated enough as she was forced into this embarrassing situation for him, and now Kiera's interruption made her more furious.

"Anna, I have to tell you something. Come with me a bit."

"No! Not before I set my score with that pumpkin."

Kiera knew Anna was very very aggrieved right now as she hates it if someone does something without her permission like that. But she didn't know it was not Yujun's fault. It was her doing all along. She was the one who allowed him to invite He Jaemin here. She realized what she did was really wrong as she saw the tension between those two. At first, she ignored that as she knew Anna was always allergic to socializing with people. But the way it seems right now is not something like because of mere irritation. It was clear that both of them hold a grudge towards each other somehow.

"Anna, listen. It was me who called him. Let's talk there, okay?"

Anna was dumbfounded when Kiera said that. Why did she do that? How could she actually? It was her apartment, that's true. But still, she was also here right? Can't she get the idea how the way she is awkward with him?

… … …

"How am I supposed to take that, Kiera? No, let's say, how do you want me to take it?" Anna didn't know why but she was very angry with Kiera though it was the first time in her life. She thought she understood her better so she never bothered to discuss what she likes and what she dislikes thoroughly to her.

Kiera looked apologetic as she also agrees with Anna. What she did today was really something very unfair to Anna. Here she was, thinking Anna would open up to her about why her relationship with He Jaemin was so complicated. But now, Kiera herself made it hard for her to open up anymore.

"Anna, I am so, so sorry. I didn't realize that you have something against him."

"It's not against something, Kiera. Why would you even invite a person who is not that close to you here? This is not where I live, but still, isn't it too much?" Anna breathed a little to calm down after finishing her sentence. First, it was her, letting a stranger into her world, and now Kiera is making her past force into her life. Why are things getting messier day by day? She was living fine until now.

"The reason is different, Anna. Today, Mr. Kavin called me."

Anna twitched her brows all of a sudden as she was pouring coffee into the pot with boiling water.

"Mr. Kavin…? What did he say?"

"Actually he told me something we didn't know before. You know he said before that he knew someone from Korea to help him? It was not the reporter who posted the article that day that helped you to come clean. He just wrote the article but the main job was done by someone else."

"Who?" Anna frowned.

"It was He Jaemin, the one who is sitting on my sofa right now."

Anna subconsciously looked towards the man who was sitting there, talking with Yujun. He helped her? So, he already knew the whole situation? Then why did he pretend to pry out information from her that day? Why did he even agree to help her when he hated meeting her again that much? This was going nowhere.

"I see… but why today? I mean we could solve it later anywhere else, right?"

"We could, but yesterday when Yujun called me he asked if he could bring his friend too, I don't know why but maybe he wanted to meet you so…. It looked like that actually. I thought it would be better if we could finish his chapter today. And this is my apartment, so you don't need to worry too much about that."

"Impossible. He would never come here to see me," Anna shrugged.

Kiera looked at Anna as if she was trying to understand her inner thoughts.

"I don't know, Anna. I know nothing. Why he is here, why are you so irritated about it, and who exactly he is to you, I don't know either of them. It is you who is supposed to tell me, right?"

Anna was silent for a split second. That's right. She never told Kiera about Jaemin and others. How could she tell? She just can't tell that she was not actually a loner person, to begin with? Rather, she was more talkative and extroverted when she was in school. She had some wonderful friends that she left behind for some shitty reasons. How could she tell her that the animosity of that man for her was something because of her deeds. She just can't help but hide these from Kiera. How would she react when she gets to know the true Annabelle is not some wonderful person and friend she admires?

Anna trembled a bit thinking all those things which were not unnoticed by Kiera.

"If you don't want to tell me now, then I won't force you, Anna."

Though Kiera was a little disappointed as she thought she would get to know something from Annabelle today. Curiosity was already killing her inside, but somehow Anna didn't look like she was ready to tell her. She silently poured the coffee into the cups and mixed milk into them as she was going to take them outside when Anna stopped her from behind.

Anna took the tray of coffee cups from her hand as she changed one of them with a black one.

"I am not sorry, Kiera. When I am ready, I will tell you for sure. It's just that, I am still…"

Before she could finish, Kiera stopped her in the midway.

"It's totally okay, Anna. I told you na? Just chill."

When Anna came outside holding the tray in her hand, she found the other two guys busy watching her favorite anime, Attack On Titan on TV. She was planning to watch season 4 today by herself, if not that pumpkin made a plan to hang out at her home today.

"Seriously? You ruined my alone time watching my favorite show, and you are watching it like a shameless guy on my TV?"

For one moment, Anna forgot it was not her house, also the TV was not hers.

"Why won't I? Why do you even bother to watch Attack On Titan a thousand times when you are only obsessed with Eren Jaeger?" Yujun scoffed a bit.

"I am not obsessed, you dumb fella. He is just cool, so I like him. I am not like you, ogling at Mikasa's body all the time!" Anna scrawled, feeling the danger. Why are people so after Eren? He is the damn protagonist there, but all the fans are making him the antagonist for no reason.

"Don't shield your husbando, you idiot! My waifu is the best here. You should try liking Levi. At least, he is better than that little kid."

As soon as she heard him, she punched his belly hard. No one can bully her husbandoes no matter what, huh!

"It's not as if Mikasa's gonna like you, you pumpkin. Your waifu is also head over heels for him!"

Kiera was in utter frustration when she saw two grown-up people fighting over anime characters. This made no sense anymore. She looked at Jaemin to find him depressed like her too as she sat on a sofa beside him, but to her surprise, she found him enjoying his coffee alone. This coffee, it was the black coffee Anna changed earlier. He thought it was for her. But no, it actually wasn't, right? The way he was sipping the coffee, it looked like he really liked black coffee. And also, Kiera barely saw Anna eating black coffees though she made those amazingly. No wonder she is a good cook.

This time, Kiera was way more curious than before. Anna even knows what this guy likes, huh? Though she said she won't pry into it until Anna opens up to her. But if he turns out to be a person from the past who could actually harm her, then she is gonna try to find all this on her own.

Anna and Yujun were still going on with their bickering when Yujun caught his next target.

"Hey, Jaemin! Say something. How can I be a pumpkin when I am this handsome? You saw there, that girl with black hair? She is my waifu. Am I not handsome enough to be her boyfriend?" Yujun said to Jaemin as he pointed his fingers towards a character on the TV.

Jaemin looked at the character and Yujun back and forth and finally said, "You would really look like a country bumpkin beside her," though Yujun thought he wouldn't bother to say anything.

The moment he said that both Kiera and Anna burst out laughing as they couldn't hold themselves. Yujun's last resort just betrayed him like that which made him feel really pathetic.

"Do you really think this nickname suits me?" Yujun pretended to be dejected to gain some pity from Jaemin but it was in vain.

"Yeah, someone is still very good at giving nicknames," Jaemin murmured to himself, but the person sitting a little far from him somehow got to hear the whole thing quite clearly.