JN (Part IV)
We’re back with yet another installment of this series, and I believe it will be the last one for our One and Only.
To unofficially wrap this up, here’s a GIF of him looking all cute and cuddly in this cozy hoodie! Yes, I’m a sucker for alliterations.
Mahal ko kayong lahat! :)
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Summary: As always, that GIF is a clue! Read on more random scenarios based on the prompt list of @neoculturedrabbles, and please take note that these were written with the tensest timeline in mind still. I’m going to call the pre-Johnny and Essie as a couple timeline as that from now.
POV: 2nd for the first, 3rd for the second.
Word count: 1,700+ words
Warning: Italics are for foreign terms this time.
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Prompt #3: “Is that my hoodie?”
Living with Johnny and Mark means you get to swipe items from each other. If not that, either one of you uses the item of the other.
For example, every time you bring out your sandalwood soap, Johnny and Mark use it. You noticed that it was used when there were remaining bubbles on the soap when it was your turn to take a bath. You wrinkled your nose in annoyance, remembering that Johnny criticized your soap preference.
“Baby, this smells like a man’s soap. Unless you like that, of course,” he told you one time you stepped out of the shower after using a newly-opened bar of sandalwood soap.
“The hell you care, dude. I’ve become used to it, and it helps with my skin conditions,” you grumbled in response before storming back to your room.
To get back for his bashing and using your soap with no permission, you decided to get one of his million hoodies inside his closet. You were lucky that he didn’t lock his room at all – it was easy to get one of them whenever he was out. Mark was abroad again, and that means you have the apartment all to yourself lately.
You got a light brown hoodie from his closet, which was one of your favorites on him. You tried it on, and you wiggled in delight at how soft and comfortable it was. “This is mine for now, Johnny Suh,” you whispered to no one in particular before leaving his room.
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When he arrived at home late that night, you were lounging in your room in his hoodie and your jogging pants. You were working on your novel again, writing about the back story on one of your characters. As you typed furiously in front of your laptop while listening to a curated playlist to get into the mood, you didn’t notice him enter your room.
As you were about to finish writing one sentence, you heard someone clear their throat. You looked up and saw the towering form of your housemate, who raised his eyebrow at you.
“Hey,” you greeted briefly before going back to your manuscript.
“Hey yourself,” you heard him through your headphones, “and is that my hoodie?”
You didn’t respond, intent on finishing the sentence you were working on.
“Is that my hoodie you’re wearing?” He asked again, his voice louder (and a bit annoyed) this time.
You took off your headphones and looked at up him again with a smile on your face. “Yeah, it is. It’s mine now,” you said confidently, flashing him your pearly whites.
“Hey, is this your payback for using your soap? Come on! I like that hoodie!” He whined, now sitting beside you and tugging the sleeve of the hoodie you were wearing.
“You have a lot of hoodies, Youngho. You bought what, like 4 or 5 of them in one go? It wouldn’t hurt for you to let go of one,” you muttered, prying his fingers off your arm.
“But that’s one of my favorites! It’s part of my Top 5!”
“Nope, it’s mine now.”
“Essieeeeee!” Johnny tackled you on the bed, and you thwacked him on the head. “Duuuude!” You grumbled, sitting up to put away your laptop on your vanity. “Don’t do that when my laptop is here.”
“And you’re more concerned about your laptop than me?” He fake-sobbed first before tackling you again back to the bed.
What ensued was a hilarious (and a bit awkward) bed wrestling fight – you two were a tangle of limbs on your messy bed.
“Ow!” He cried when he got poked by your plastic hand bookmark that has now escaped the book you were hiding under your bed. “Serves you right for messing with me!” You stuck your tongue out and pushed him off you.
He didn’t let you do that easily – he pinned both your arms and was now on top of you.
“Give back my jacket please, baby,” he purred, giving you his best aegyo even if his face was as flushed as a tomato.
“No, it’s mine. For now, that is. Can’t I borrow it for a week?”
Johnny let go of his hold on you and laid beside you on the bed. “Fine, just for a week. After that, it goes back into my closet.”
“Then I’ll pilfer another one next time,” you snickered, which earned you a pinch on your sides. You glared at him, which he ignored as he continued to pinch you more.
“No, I get to choose which one you’ll get next time,” he said, now tilting his body to face you. “There’s nothing wrong with you wearing my stuff, but you’ve got to ask permission first, okay?”
“But you didn’t ask for my permission when you used my soap!” It was your turn to whine, and he just laughed at your statement.
“Essie, it’s just soap. And I bet you have a truckload of that since you always ask your sister to get you that every time she goes to the States. So please, don’t mind us when you use your soap.”
His words took a moment for you to absorb. “Mark uses it too?!” You were close to hysterics already, making the tall guy laugh harder. “Yeah. As you said, it smells good, and it helps with skin conditions.”
You looked at him for a hot minute and focused your attention on his neck. “I doubt it’s helping you,” you said, pointing at the red mark on his neck. “Your insect bite is still there.”
“Heeeeey!” He swatted your finger away from his neck and held it. “That doesn’t count. But maybe if I use it more…”
“Fine. Let’s call it quits. You can use my soap, and I get to keep this hoodie.”
“No way, Jose! It’s still mine. You can use it for a week, that’s it.”
“But Johnnyyyyy!”
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Prompt #9: “What are you doing?”
“…nothing.”
When Essie and Johnny weren’t still roommates, he often texted her or left her a voicemail to hang out with him.
“What are you doing?” Ninety-nine percent of the time, this was the first message that Essie would always playback.
“…nothing,” was her usual reply. Later on, he would text her about some activities he wanted to do with her. There were some that she agreed to, and there were some that she declined out of tiredness or she wasn’t up for it.
Since Johnny vlogged during his free time, he would always tag along with Essie and Kibum in his adventures. They did challenges together, and the three became known as the Le Fabuleux Escouade, thanks to Kibum and Essie’s French vocabulary and the netizens agreeing that it was a nice nickname for the trio.
There was a time that the two had their usual exchange that ended up with them having a mukbang at his apartment. Kibum was out of the country, so it was just the two best friends who filmed while eating Essie’s favorite Filipino dishes – Bicol Express, afritadang manok, ensaladang pako, palabok, and pichi-pichi. There was a newly-opened Filipino restaurant downtown and the girl was too eager to order almost everything from the menu.
“Since I asked you guys on my social media what you would like to know about me and Essie, we’re going to read some of them right now as we eat all this glorious food,” Johnny said to the camera, pointing at the pichi-pichi and palabok near him. Essie gave a small wave and pointed to the Bicol Express and afritadang manok beside her.
As Johnny scrolled through his phone for the questions he received, the girl started eating. She put some rice on her plate first before getting a portion of the Bicol Express. “I’m so hungry right now, guys,” Essie whispered loudly enough to be considered ASMR.
When he looked at her, his eyes widened. “Hey, don’t start without me! Wait!” He was quick to whip out his plate and put some rice and Bicol Express on it as well.
They ate a bit before Johnny went back to his phone to answer questions. He almost choked when he read the most asked question.
“Are you and Essie dating?” He read aloud before showing off the proof that almost everyone wanted to know the real deal between him and his best friend.
The girl looked at him incredulously before staring into the camera with the same expression. “Seriously, guys?” She asked before eating a spoonful of rice and meat.
“Well, Essie and I are best friends. I mean, I have a lot of people I consider that, and she’s one of them. We have been friends for over a year now,” he looked at her briefly before turning his attention back to the camera, “and I’m glad that we still are. What can you say, baby?”
She slapped his shoulder playfully before sharing her answer. “That’s true. He’s one of my best friends as well. Even if our friendship isn’t as long as my other besties, I still feel that we are. Sometimes, it isn’t about the labels that define things. It just happens, you know?”
The two gave each other a high-five before they went into their friendship clap.
“We’re just best friends, guys!” Johnny started, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “But who knows?” He glanced at her, hoping that his look of longing wasn’t that visible on camera.
To be honest, he was starting to fall for her. The more time that he spent with her, the more he wanted to be with her. He tried not hanging out with her for a week, and he felt empty. It wasn’t the same anymore.
“Hey!” Essie shouted, pushing him away from her. “Don’t lead them on like that!” If Johnny was paying close attention to what her words meant, then he would’ve realized that her statement reflected what she was feeling and not the viewers.
Essie shared the same feelings too, and their life would be even more complicated if they do get together.
Who would like their relationship to be projected onto screens, right? Not Essie, but she’s not sure if Johnny feels the same.
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FIN
P.S. All those Filipino dishes made me hungry! I hope you get to eat your favorites today!