The number that you are trying to call is not reachable.

“WHAT?” Gaeul screamed, wracking her head trying to connect to her Boss. 

The number that you are trying to call is not reachable.

“BOSS!” 

The number that you are trying to call is not reachable. 

Gaeul whined into her phone.

––•••––

Summer in Seoul was hot and humid, but there were some wind in the morning. Jaebum opened the big window to enjoy the breeze and the curtain flapped as he sat thinking of what to write for today’s letter to Autumn. He was running out of things to write as days gone by. Even so, Autumn would come every year to remind him of her. Even just one sentence, he could manage it. 

And Jaebum started his letter with, To My Autumn… And he suddenly chuckled to himself. He stared out into the sunny sky and pondered. 

Summer is almost ending. Yet, it’s somewhat telling me that you are coming…As always, I will eagerly wait. This is a foolish thought, but I think you might be already here? 

Jaebum stopped when he was confused with his own thoughts. It was unfair to think of a replacement, it was only the name that caught him off guard after-all. And another letter unfinished. 

Perhaps it was the loudness of Gaeul being heavy handed in the kitchen that made it harder for him to focus. But was that girl really trying to cook again? Was she going to leave the kitchen a mess like few days ago again? Jaebum dropped his pen and slammed his fist on the table. He clicked his tongue in frustration. He stormed out of the room and went straight for the kitchen. 

“Moon Gaeul! What are you doing?” He asked, glancing over at the stove and saw braised eels. He sniffed and the delicious scent stunned him for a moment. And suddenly the realization came; He was played the other day. 

Gaeul quickly placed the eel in a container, finishing up the kimbap that she made and cut into the lunchbox. 

“Moon Gaeul! You can cook?” He gaped with widen eyes.  

Gaeul averted her eyes. She bit her bottom lip and feigned innocence. She quickly wrapped up everything that she had prepared for her friend.  

Jaebum ground his teeth in anger and asked, “That crap that you made for me the other day?”

Gaeul broke her silence with a sigh and replied, “It wasn’t on purpose. A lot of people eat eggs for breakfast. And I don’t know what you normally eat, so I just go with eggs. And it was an accident that the spoon of salt dropped…and…I–I–I was rushing so I burnt them..” Gaeul honestly meant no harm, just a bit mischievous sometimes. 

Jaebum was astonished at her action from yesterday, but he wanted the braised eels. Yet, he couldn’t managed a word to stop her when she walked toward that door. 

“Listen, I’m going to meet up with my friend, so I’ll be back later. I’ll get you something better, how about it? What would you like to eat?” She grinned with nervousness, wondering why she was extra nice to him. Probably because he was the son of her boss.

He gaped with hesitation on what he wanted. He insisted on the cold front, but his love for chicken was too strong that he said, “Chicken, but don’t you dare get the brand from PK!” 

She nodded, gave him the ‘okay’ signal and left. 

He felt a bit regretting at those eels, he really really wanted eels for dinner. When he turned back from the door he gasped in disbelief. “AGH!” The kitchen was a mess! He had to clean it again! She left so abruptly that even the stove wasn’t turned off properly. The preparation dishes were out in the sink, piling up. What did this girl do that require so many preparation dishes?  Was she the maid or was he the maid? Nevertheless, he was one to be a clean organized freak. Therefore, he bitterly took up the task and washed the dishes. 

—•••––

Park Jinyoung was a nice boy. He lived with one simple goal in life; To become something great and have enough money to support his mom. Even though his mom was someone who had her own share of business with his aunt, it was still better to give her the best in the world for raising him throughout the years. He was a filial son, but the route he chose for his dream and goal was a little rough. Fortunately, beside him there was a small little ray of sunshine that he met one evening after being left behind during a company’s MT.  

Her name was Park Chaeyoung, and she often sent him letters, buried in the pile of fan-letters that he received everyday. Despite being a bit unknown for now, he had a lot of fans for his looks. He appreciated them, their letters and their concerns, but the letters that brought a smile to his face would always be hers. 

“Jinyoung, yah~ our Jinyoung is so kind, smiling so brightly at fan-letters. If the fans see it they’ll go crazy.” His manager whenever he saw him smiling brightly overlooking a pile of letters. 

Jinyoung his lips nervously and smiled. What Jinyoung feared most was that his fans would find out about her, and at the same time losing her. But for now, he could bask in the happiness that she had reserved for him. 

––•••––

Gaeul’s friend was a girl named Mina that she met in Japan last Spring. The two of them had plan this meeting since then. To both go to the same school in South Korea. Mina attended Ewha University while Gaeul decided not to attend after she got accepted into Atelier. Despite how her trajectory turned out, she was still ecstatic because she could now rant it all out to somebody else about her one whole day of misery and more to come. 

Gaeul sat on the steps waiting for Mina. Ewha was a very pretty campus with pretty female students that almost all the wealthy men looked to when picking girlfriends or marriage partner. Gaeul was contemplating on how to deal with Jaebum until she overheared a ridiculous wail. When she turned to her side she saw a guy crying with his girlfriend beside him, patting his back. She turned away but couldn’t help her curiosity that she was all ears, eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Oppa, don’t cry. You still have me.” His new girlfriend patted his back. She leaned her head on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you–“

“Mimi, the apartment. I’m afraid I can’t keep it any longer. $1,000 dollars a month can’t even cover up the cost.” He sniffed wondering if he should call his mom, but the fee that he had to pay for making long distance international calls stopped him in his track. Oh the dilemma and heartache of a frugal son! He also couldn’t afford to keep his car either. However, Mimi was optimistic and was determined that mommy and daddy were just angry at something else, they’d revert back to normal for him in a few days. “My bank account was terminated earlier this morning, my cards were cut…“ He said with a deadpan expression. 

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