One More Time

Chapter 7

“Yah! Choi Soo Young keep your utensils to your own plate!”

“Stop being such a food grinch Lee Soon Kyu. Sharing is caring.”

“Don’t call me by that ancient name! Sharing isn’t caring when you’re about to devour half of my meal! What are you even made out of you bottomless food pit! Jessica how do you even deal with her?”

“She’s surprisingly nice to me, must be because of my charming personality. Either that or I usually threaten her if she does anything stupid.”

“And that, ladies and ladies is the tragic story of my life. Donations may be given in the form of food or money. Please support the Soo Young Food Foundation.”

“Dumb child.” Sunny and Jessica said at the same time.

“Tae Yeon save me from these mean people!”

“Just eat your food guys.” I said while chuckling, they sure were a lively bunch.

“Oi oi, listen to Ms CEO here or she’ll deploy her personal guards to kick your asses.” Sunny remarked while pointing her knife in Soo Young’s directions.

“Oh Tae Yeon you’re a CEO? Which company?” Jessica questioned while taking a bite of her eggs.

“I Enterprises.”

“Oh so I’m having brunch with the Kim Tae Yeon? Choi Soo Young behave yourself.”

“There’s no need to act differently around me, I’m on vacation right now. My problems and responsibilities are back in Korea.” I said with a bitter chuckle, hoping that no one picked up on it. Soo Young on the other hand shrugged her shoulders in an exaggerated manner and shook her head at Jessica trying to refute her earlier comment about her behaviour. I laughed out loud at her ridiculous expressions.

“You’re probably being an idiot right now Soo, just wait till I push your plate off your table.”

“Don’t take this out on my breakfast! It’s innocent!”

“Please remind me again why I ever dated you.” Sunny voiced out while rolling her eyes at Soo Young’s antics.

“I’m perfect, who wouldn’t want to date me.” Soo Young flipped her hair over her shoulder and shot a flirty wink at Sunny who shuddered in mock disgust.

“Hold up! The both of you dated?” Jessica blurted, echoing my thoughts.

“Yea, it was just casual though. We realised that we were more comfortable as friends so our relationship ended on pretty good terms. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be at this table right now.” Soo Young joked.

I nodded at her explanation. I thought of Tiffany at the mention of relationships but I just pushed her out of my mind, I didn’t want to ruin my mood. Sunny noticed the troubled look on my face and nudged me with her elbow. She had a worried expression and quirked her eyebrows as if she was asking if everything was alright. I soothed her worries by giving her her a reassuring smile, I didn’t want to talk about my messed up life just yet. I was just content with having an enjoyable time with this strange group of people. It was honestly quite surprisingly at how quickly I found myself at ease around them, Sunny and I could even communicate just by looking at each other. Despite just having met each other, we could really click. Then again, our strong camaraderie may have been forged due to our mutual lack of height. Although I had just met Soo Young and Jessica, I didn’t feel the need to be careful around them, I could just be myself. I had forgotten what it was like to not be placed under the scrutiny of others; I was constantly on my best behaviour back in Korea. I needed make a good first impression on people of importance. One misstep would definitely bring the company down. I was under that amount of pressure almost every single day. It was nice to able to relax and voice out my thoughts without having the need to be tactful or diplomatic. I couldn’t blurt everything out right there and then but the pressure of having to be perfect wasn’t there. I could be comfortable in my own skin.

I swallowed my last bite of toast as Soo Young finished up her second plate of pancakes. Jessica fed her the remains of whatever was left on her plate. Sunny just gave a subtle smile in their direction while cleaning off her own meal. I was about to ask her what she was smirking at when she cleared and got everyone’s attention.

“Hey girls, since we’re all done with brunch how about the two of you show us around? It would be nice to have a local guiding us around the area.”

“Sure we would love to show you around. I’ll show you some of the hidden gems of San Francisco.” Jessica said. “I won’t be held responsible if I lead you guys down the edge of a cliff, I’m just going according to my memory here.” She casually joked while giving us an awkward laugh. Instead of laughing at her joke, the thought of falling to our deaths made Sunny and I shudder in fear; as if a cold gust of wind had blown past us. Soo Young just sighed at her cold joke and gave her a little pat on her shoulder. Jessica seemed clueless as to what had just transpired as a small smile remained plastered on her face as she took a small sip of her iced americano.

“Don’t worry, she’s just joking. Her sense of direction isn’t that bad. Plus I’ll warn you if we’re near any steep edges or cliffs.” Soo Young said while trying to lighten up the mood. Sunny and I giggled along with her this time.

“Why is it when I make a joke there’s total silence but when she makes one there’s a riot? What sort of injustice is this!” Jessica whined in protest. That incited another bout of laughter from everyone around the table.

“Oh now I’m funny? You people have a horrible sense of humour.” Jessica commented with a huff.

“Ok Princess, no need to throw a temper. C’mon we’ll give you a proper tour of the place before the sun goes down.”

“Sure thing, let’s get going.” I said while getting up and grabbing my things.

“Hang on, I need to make a trip to the toilet first. Anyone else needs to go too?” Sunny piped up.

“I’ll go along with you, I’m feeling a little gassy.” Soo Young said as she followed her into the toilet at the back of the cafe, leaving me alone with Jessica. I wracked my brain in an attempt to think of a conversation starter. I think the lack of non-business associated small talk I’ve had really got in the way of my social skills. My mouth opened and closed like a clam but no words came out of it; where in the world did all my conversational skills disappear to? As I was fretting over what to say to Jessica, she casually lifted up her hand and poked my eye.

“Ow! What was that for?” I exclaimed.

“Oops did I poke your eye? So sorry I meant to go for your cheek.” She apologised while giving a slight bow.

“Still what was that for?”

“You kept swaying around a lot so I guessed that you were nervous. You don’t need to be nervous around me, it’s ok.”

I was mildly surprised that she was able to understand my feelings through the small nuances in my actions. It seemed to me that the rest of Jessica’s senses were well honed to make up for the lack of sight, she wasn’t totally unaware of her surroundings. It was the other way round, she had a very keen perception of what went on around her. The common perception of the blind was that they were helpless and pitiful but after getting to know one of them, they were neither. Stereotypes aren’t that reliable after all.

Jessica and I had eased into a casual conversation about our experiences. The conversation was rather light hearted and we talked a little about ourselves and other random things. I shared a few funny stories I had encountered over the years while she told me about her peculiar likes and dislikes. I began opening up a little more as I skimmed over the details of my life back in Seoul, Jessica thankfully didn’t ask that many questions and nodded her head in understanding instead.

Sunny and Soo Young finally emerged from the toilet after what felt like ages. Sunny had a grim look on her face but quickly put on a jovial expression when she caught sight of us. I wonder what happened in there. Soo Young just kept a poker face on as she suggested that we could head to the Walt Disney Family Museum or one of her favourite parks, the Grand View Park. I wanted to get a good view of the city first so I opted for the park, it would be nice to get a breath of fresh air too. Sunny and Jessica were fine with anything so they just went along with my decision. We got into Soo Young’s modest-looking, blue Toyota Prius. Jessica rode shotgun next to Soo Young while Sunny and I sat at the back.

The ride lasted for 20 minutes. The four of us passed the time by chatting about nothing in particular and playing silly games such as “I Spy”. Sunny and I were a little taken aback when Jessica suggested the game but were put at ease when Soo Young explained that Jessica would just describe whatever popped up in her head. She was surprisingly good at the game, granted that most of our descriptions consisted of ‘something green and leafy’. The game was rather childish but it helped to pass the time. Soo Young also provided some really quirky descriptions, inciting laughter from the rest of us. Jessica also had a rather vivid imagination as she described random places and objects based on her memory. It was safe to say that we were pretty comfortable around one another.

I gasped in horror when I got off the car and was greeted with my worst enemy… stairs. As the CEO of a leading company that specialised in technology, my aim was to make life as convenient and easy as possible. In other words, I was a lazy bum that shunned any form of physical exertion. It was a miracle that I was able to maintain my figure. Sunny and Jessica made it up the long flight of stairs with ease while Soo Young and I had to crawl up with all of our strength. We were ready to collapse by the time we reached the top of the stairs, the more athletic duo shook their head while mocking us for our poor stamina. Soo Young replied by sticking her tongue out at them; I was too tired to even bother.

After Soo Young and I caught our breaths, we made our way to a corner of the park where we could sightsee. I was greeted by a breathtaking view of the entire city. Skyscrapers disappeared into the clouds and people of all shapes and sizes were bustling about in the city below. It was rather surreal to be able to view the hustle and bustle of city life from such a distance. I realised that there was so much more to city life than just the fast paced lifestyle, there was so much vibrancy and life around every corner, I just needed to open my eyes a little more. The four of us enjoyed the serenity that the park provided in amicable silence. Going on this trip was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Three daunting figures were seated on a park bench near where the quartet stood. They were dressed in plain clothes and wore surgical masks to cover up their features. They gave occasional glances in the direction of the foursome.

“The coast is clear. We should just nab that shorty right now, none of them look like they’d put up a fight.” Han Sook muttered to his brothers.

“Not yet you , we still need more intel. We’re not sure which ones are dangerous.” Han Gil said in exasperation. “Let’s just trail them for awhile longer, none of them seem to suspect a thing. Besides we don’t want to get into a fight, Ms Kim may get injured in the crossfire. Our instructions were clear, she is to remain unharmed.”

“Fine, whatever. I just want that prize money.” Han Sook spat while lighting up a cigarette.

“Just be patient brother, we’ll get her soon.” Han Woon said.

Kim Tae Yeon was in for a world of trouble.

AN: I am so happy friggin this story actually has upvotes and subscribers ;^; I LOVE YOU PEOPLE. On a side note though, I’m sorry I’m a bit late on my supposed update that’s supposed to happen “once a fortnight”. I have nothing to blame but the lack of motivation and plain laziness, sorry guys. Btw I didn’t proofread this chapter because I’m posting it right before my flight to Malaysia so it would be helpful if you guys pointed out any possible typos or grammatical errors. Thank you so much!