Day 4

I was woken from my much extended nap by a sharp knock on the door. Reluctant to move, I turned to face the door and mumbled, “Come in,” as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and slowly stretched my arms and legs. Jong Kook opened the door hesitantly and once he saw me looking at him, came in, leaving the door open behind him. He nearly filled the doorway with his shoulders, much to my tired brain’s amusement. I sat up as he cleared his throat and looked around my room.

“What’s up,” I prompted, and he looked surprised for a moment.

“Right,” He jammed his hands into the back pockets of the shorts he was wearing, refocusing himself, “I have filming today – are you going to be cool staying here alone,” I nodded before he even ended the sentence.

“Yeah, I stayed home alone once or twice back in the States,” I lied, not wanting him to know just how often I was home alone and for how long.

“Okay, cool. I’ve left some money on the counter if you don’t find anything in the fridge and mine and Gapjin’s phone numbers are on the fridge in case you need anything – don’t hesitate to call.” I nodded again and bowed slightly.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile, my pitch slightly higher than normal to which he smiled, “Work hard,” I said. He hummed in reply as he walked out with a wave of his hand, his large shoulders sauntering back and forth. I giggled at his antics. Jong Kook was already better than any of the boyfriends my mom ever had – I wondered why they broke up. I shook my head, knowing that was a question for another time.

Sighing, I got out of the bed and stretched my arms to the sky before going to my dresser and deciding what to wear for the day. A pair of mid-thigh length khaki shorts and a loose tank top with blue vertical pinstripes called my attention and I put them on – a blue sports bra (not that I really needed a bra) peaked out of the sides under my arms. A pair of black crew socks made their way onto my feet as well as a gray and black snapback which, thankfully, flattened the short brown hair that was actually porcupine-level spiky.

Quickly brushing my teeth, I went out to the kitchen and saw there were 10 10,000 won pieces of paper, which I knew was quite a bit of money for one day but I smiled at that having never received something that would ensure there was food in my stomach for the day. Then, I collapsed on the large leather sofa and the TV with a remote.

Note:

A teenage girl 

Became a potato on this day

Five hours passed very quickly and my stomach growled in protest of my watching another show, so I was forced to leave the rather comfortable nest I built on the couch. Deciding it’d be more fun to go out and explore – especially with the weather being so nice – I quickly grabbed my backpack, jammed in the money as well as my phone, and left the apartment.

Note:

Two phone numbers were left forgotten.

The first thing I noticed was how tightly packed everything was and how many signs there were as well as how much music was playing. It was on the street directly perpendicular to the apartment building I lived in I got my first taste of the famous KPOP. It was not bad. Definitely catchy but it seemed like everywhere I turned there was one particular song playing. Psy’s “Gangnam Style” was actually grating my ears at every shop I entered – I only entered, I didn’t buy anything.

Finally done exploring the various shops nearby, I entered what seemed to be a mom and pop type of restaurant that had kimbap roles featured on one of their adds and walked in – the bell ringing as I entered. An older man was standing at the counter and waved at me as I walked in. I bowed.

“Hello!” I called, walking to the counter.

“Wah…you speak Korean, well!” I laughed awkwardly and nodded.

“Thank you but I still have to study more,” I said modestly, in all honesty my Korean was very good if not slightly accented.

“When did you come to Korea?” He asked, meaning to be friendly but making me feel uncomfortable.

“4 days ago,” I replied anyway knowing it was rude not to.

“Where from?” the Ahjussi pushed, a smile still planted on his face as well as an inquisitive gleam to his eyes. Glancing around and seeing no one in the shop it seemed that the man was simply bored and I decided to accept his questioning.

“From America,” I replied.

“Ahhhh – who are you staying with?”

“My…Dad,” I said only slightly stumbling over the word. However, the Ahjussi clearly saw my fumble and squinted at me in suspicion. He then looked at my head and his mouth opened slightly accompanied by wincing expression as he reached a hand out towards the lines of staples just barely visible because my hat had shifted backwards. I stepped away from the hand and shifted my hat down – hiding the staples and biting my lip nervously. The Ahjussi looked properly scolded as well as surprised at his actions before letting his arm fall to his side – worry still blatant in his crescent-shaped eyes.

“You’re not in trouble, are you?” He asked with concern, I shook my head vehemently – I was in less trouble now than I had ever been in my life. I wanted to smack myself in the head – what was so hard about saying that word aloud? The silence was heavy between us.

“Can I have 3 rolls of kimbap?” I asked after a pause, my lip being tortured by my teeth. The man nodded, his thick fingers working over the cash register and stating a price which I promptly paid. Three because I wanted to give one to Gapjin and Jong Kook. He handed me the rolls and waved goodbye but not before giving me a serious look and saying to come again tomorrow.

As I was walking back to the apartment building I was struck with how concerned the Ahjussi was and what that said about Korean society – clearly watching out for others was really important even if they were complete strangers. I looked into the bag he’d handed me and noticed a fourth roll and smiled, a warmth bubbling inside me. Being taken care of was apparently going to be a large part of life from now on. Strange. But a good strange. Walking up to the apartment I stood at our apartment door for a moment. And then almost collapsed on the floor in annoyance. There was a pin for the door and I didn’t know it. Which meant I was locked out.

I also then remembered that I had totally forgotten to put Jong Kook’s number into my phone. Sighing and feeling very defeated – a drastic change from my previous mood – I sat on the floor and opened one of the rolls, eating it with my hands and trying not to scream in frustration.

I entertained myself like that for a full hour, slowly eating a roll of kimbap and surfing on the internet. It was weird reading the news because I was included in a lot of it. There was the video of me being pushed to the ground all over the place with titles like “Jong Kook’s daughter rude?” and “Have Netizens Gone Too Far?” As well as a choice few from a little longer ago about him having a daughter. The shock was everywhere and it had clearly hurt his very clean, up until now, image. I felt slightly bad for that but knew it wasn’t my fault. Nonetheless, I was once again determined not to do anything that would hurt his image more.

As I was looking at my phone I didn’t even notice that a woman had knelt down in front of me. A hand tapped me on the knee. I looked up, startled. A beautiful – and beautiful was the only appropriate word - woman with large brown eyes and dark brown hair crouched with a smile on her face.

“Are you Jong Kook Oppa’s kid?” she asked, her pitch mid-toned and tone very casual. The ‘Oppa’ suffix did not go unnoticed by me. I nodded.

“Yes, I am. Who are you?” I asked rather bluntly. The woman laughed at my forwardness.

“I’m a friend and colleague – I also live down the hall,” She replied with an open smile. She seemed cool enough all though I still felt uncomfortable with that fact that she was a total stranger to her. “You can call me Ji Hyo Unni, if you want.” She suggested. I nodded, not objecting to the suffix that would normally be reserved for someone much younger – she seemed more like an Imo to me but Unni would do for now.

“My name is Jessica,” I replied in response to a raised and encouraging eyebrow, “But Ahjussi calls me Jessi.” Ji Hyo snorted, covering her face with her hand.

“Ahjussi?” Ji Hyo snorted again, “I bet he liked being called that,” she said with a touch of friendly sarcasm. I snorted a bit, as well.

“Calling him Dad is a little weird,” I explained and she nodded. I was glad that she understood why I did call him Ahjussi – validation is always good.

“So, Jessi-ah, why are you sitting out here?” She asked while looking up and down the hallway. I felt my cheeks heating up and coughed slightly.

“I don’t know the pin number,” I answered honestly although it was in an obviously embarrassed tone.

“Really?” she paused, “Why didn’t you just call him?”

“I don’t have his number…” I trailed off, shifting the hat on my head and scratching my knees, looking everywhere but her face.

“Oh goodness!” She said in surprise, worry tinting her eyes but she didn’t ask anything further and simply got her phone out. She dialed something and pressed the phone to her face.

“Gapjin oppa,” she said after a moment, “Is Jong Kook available?” She paused, “Thank you!” there was another pause and Ji Hyo took a moment to grin at me. “Oh! Oppa,” she greeted loudly. I heard, ‘ah-Jihyo-yah!’ faintly over the line. “Mmm, Oppa, I have your daughter here…”

“My daughter? Why?” A voice said from over the phone, the tone concerned.

“She’s sitting in the hallway right now…says she’s locked out,” I blushed in embarrassment, not meeting the Unni’s eyes as she smiled at me in encouragement.

“Really? Can you hand her the phone?” I accepted the phone hesitantly with a forced grin.

“Jessi-ah…Why didn’t you call me?” I bit my lip and looked down at my shoes in shame.

“I forgot to put your number in my phone this morning…” I admitted contritely, my middle finger picking at the side of my thumb. “Sorry…”

“Yah!” he yelled, I winced, dragging the phone away from my face for a second, “You’re lucky that Ji Hyo came along – I don’t get home till late tonight and you would have had to spend all your day in that hallway…” I could tell he was irritated with me and I felt tears well up in my eyes as my teeth worried at my lip.

“Sorry…” I repeated, dragging out the ‘y’ slightly. I heard him sigh and my heart plummeted into my shoes – I hated that sigh.

“No – I’m sorry, should have told you the code to get in…” he trailed off and there was silence over the line. I felt a hand on my knee, and Ji Hyo smiled at me; a soft, comforting smile.

“It’s okay,” she whispered and I nodded, rubbing my eyes. I felt like such a baby.

“I’ll text it to you – save my number,” Jong Kook finally said, and then I heard the telltale click of him hanging up. A second later, the text made my phone bing and I saw the code. A second text came with the solemn word of “sorry” attached to it. And then a third, “save my number.”

“All right,” Ji Hyo stood up and brushed off her black jeans and then offered me a hand to get up which I took. “It was very nice to meet you, Jessi!” She said and waved me to go inside before walking a good ten feet to her own apartment. I paused as I was typing the code in, looking at the kimbap in the bag on my arm.

“Wait!” I called in a split second decision, the woman paused and looked at me with a question mark in her eyes.  I walked over to her – trying to not look like the gangly teenager that I was. “I have an extra kimbap roll…do you want it?” I asked awkwardly, extending the roll towards her. Ji Hyo laughed and accepted the small gift. She reached a hand out to ruffle the hat on my head.

“Thank you!” She said warmly, “Now, go inside and don’t worry too much – you and your ‘Ahjussi,’” she paused, laughing slightly at the word, “still have a lot of learning to do about being family, okay?” I nodded with a smile and returned to my own door typing in the pass key and finally entering the apartment.

The feeling of the air conditioning hitting me was an absolute blessing and the sweat that had I had been collecting under my hat felt cool against my scalp. Putting the two remaining roles on the counter I decided to take a shower – and by shower I meant keeping my head out of the water as I let the water roll over my body.

As I got dressed in pajamas I felt myself getting a bit peeved at the way Jong Kook had talked to me. I mean, I know I did something wrong but at the end of the day it was just a mistake. Plus, I know how to take care of myself. Reflecting on the past few days I did have to admit that “able to take care of self” wouldn’t be listed under my strengths, but I hadn’t exactly been myself over the last few days – being in a new country with strangers can do that to you.

With a sigh, I collapsed onto my bed and surfed the internet before succumbing to a midafternoon nap.

________________________

            The first thing Jong Kook checked when he got home was that Jessi was home, the second thing he checked was that her head was still stapled together, and the third thing he checked was that there was a mysterious bag on the counter. Sorting through it in curiosity he smiled widely as he saw two rolls in the bag – he assumed they were for him. Today’s work had been tough – not only had the guests on Running Man not been the most agreeable but the work on his new album also wasn’t going as smoothly as planned.

            He heard the door click open and the scuffle as Gapjin kicked off his shoes at the entrance. Jong Kook gave a short smile as his friend and manager entered the main room, offering him a roll of kimbap. He looked at it questionably.

            “From who?” He asked rather glibly.

            “Jessi,” Jong Kook replied with a mumble. Gapjin smiled and chuckled.

            “Wahhh…She’s a good kid,” he said thankfully, already beginning to munch on the roll.

            “Yeah…she seems like it…” Jong Kook said absently still thinking over the day. He regretted yelling at her – he hadn’t meant to take his bad day out on her; not like it was even that big of a mistake.

            “Why did Ji Hyo call earlier?” Gapjin asked through a mouthful, Jong Kook laughed at his friend before sighing.

            “Jessi locked herself out.”

            “Oh? Why didn’t she call?”

            “Forgot to put my number in before she left,” Gapjin nodded.

            “Well…that’s an easy mistake to make. She probably was just really excited about exploring,” Gapjin said reasonably, stuffing in another slice into his chipmunk-like cheeks. Jong Kook rubbed his face, obviously down.

            “I yelled at her,” Jong Kook admitted after a moment, feeling carthysis as he admitted to the deed. Gapjin’s eyebrows raised almost comically.

            “Really?” He swallowed, “Wah…you’re mean,” Jong Kook’s long-time friend said rather cheekily. In reality, the friend knew just how rarely Jong Kook yelled at someone outside of TV nowadays. Despite the comment being in jest, the thick-shouldered man seemed to sink into himself more and cupped a glass of water as though it were soju. Gapjin quickly noticed and sighed, “It’s not that big of a deal, Jong Kook – I’m sure she’s already forgotten about it.” Jong Kook nodded after a moment and then smiled weakly.

            “You think so?”

            “Auh.” Gapjin grunted, “ Like I said, she seems like a good kid.”

            “Wah…It’s so weird that she’s only been here for four days…” Jong Kook trailed off, deliberately changing topics.

            “Does she feel like family, all ready?” The teddy-bear like man asked with genuine curiosity.

            “I don’t know…” Jong Kook paused, ruffling his hair,” It’s weird, I’m always being really careful around her. I think she’s careful around me, too.” He paused again, “We also don’t really joke much like a family would – there’s just so much I don’t know about her. She starts school next week, too, so I really won’t have any time to get to know her, then.” Gapjin shrugged.

            “Well, she’s going to be living with you for at least the next five or six years. That’s a long time – I’m sure it’ll be more comfortable by then.”

            “Did I tell you she hit her head?” 

            “Yeah, you did,” Gapjin laughed rather robustly and Jong Kook had to shush him with a glare. “She’s going to give you some trouble based on these last few days – she seems to draw trouble,” Gapjin said with a snort. “But she’s a nice kid,” He added as an after thought, snorting again as though he had said the funniest joke in the world. It was then that Jong Kook noticed the slight red tinge to his friends face and rolled his eyes – ‘of course he’s tipsy,’ Jong Kook thought.

            “Well, hopefully not too much trouble – I want to at least keep her alive till twenty,” This set Gapjin off again and Jong Kook slammed a hand over the larger man’s mouth while rolling his sharp eyes again. As Gapjin settled down, Jong Kook let go and groaned, standing up straight and stretching his arms up over his head. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was ten o’clock. Setting his shoulders back he slowly lead his friend to the door and promptyl kicked him out.

His Friend Left Him with a Wonderful Parting Gift:

“Just wait till the boys start crawling through her window”

“Over my dead body,” The father thought.