Happy New Year! 

This school year is a very busy one for me, because I'm about to finish my BA so I'm writing my thesis. I can't update as frequently as I want to, but writing is always a great escape. Hope you will like it!

Chopin - Nocturne op.9 No.2

(Also, I changed my user name, previous one was Hyo-Lyn. I hope it doesn't confuse you. I really didn't like my first one, so I waited for a long time (more than a year) till I gained enough karma points. You need 500 for a user name change. Anyway, it's still me, nothing else changed :) )

“Beautiful Song Ji Hyo!”

The woman stopped in her tracks, almost tripping as she landed not-so-gracefully from her little jump. The sudden yelling was something she would not expect at the Academy. At all. For one reason, it was forbidden. Young children who came to study ballet here have to learn that they can’t run around or scream on the hallways as if they were on the playground. So the deep male voice echoing in the practice room even out voicing her music really surprised her.

Ji Hyo turned her head towards the door and found a man there sporting a huge grin on his facet that reached his eyes. Yeo Jin stepped into the room a second later looking puzzled, slightly out of breath as if she was running behind the man. “Kang Hee Gun-ssi, please don’t do that here.” She warned him in a hushed tone, then glanced out of the door as if she was waiting for someone to come and tell them off, which didn’t happen, calming the young woman.

The man just brushed his big palm against the back of his head and nodded in apology. It didn’t really look sincere as he was still grinning. He then turned back to face Ji Hyo.

She remembered him actually. He was one of the most popular men among the martial artists that came to their academy. He was a big flirt and could say the most ridiculous things to the girls. What came to her as a surprise that he not only spared glances to her as well, but went out of his way to talk to her too. They met first when she finished practicing earlier as others needed the room too. She went to look for Yeo Jin and the men finished their session around that time as well. They happened to walk down the stairs together and the man started to talk to her at an instant. Since then every time they meet he comes up to her. He even goes as far as to barge into the practice room when she is there alone. Just like now.

“Will you come with us, too?” asked the man, waking Ji Hyo up from her small reverie. She willed herself to glance at the man and brushed a stray lock of hair that escaped her messy bun behind her ears.

“I’m sorry?” She frowned, not quite getting what did he mean by that.

“To the pub. We decided with the boys to go. Yeo Jin-ah here wanted to tag along and said she would get others as well. I assume she will bring you too, as you are good friends.”

Ji Hyo glanced at the younger woman who just smiled at her apologetically.

“No, she has yet to ask me” said Ji Hyo not knowing what to think of the situation. Why would he want her to go as well? They barely knew each other.

“Well, okay” nodded the man then started to walk towards Ji Hyo with steady steps stopping only a meter away from her. “Then I shall ask you instead.”

Ji Hyo stared at him blankly. His face was smooth, cocky smile on his lips, childish gleam in his eyes and eyebrows arched in bliss. She wouldn’t say he was ugly, but his face was honestly average. The type that you won’t notice in the crowd. His almost entirely shaved head added to his average looks. What, however, was the least average: his muscles. His black tank top - drenched in sweat she might add - revealed his muscular upper body and arms. His shoulders were quite impressive as well. He is a martial artist after all. A boxer, as he pointed it out multiple times with a pretentiously sad expression when she didn’t remember that, nor his sport results and titles he earned.

So, you are a big dog in the ring, right? She asked once, to which he laughed out loud. She glanced at him looking puzzled. He quickly contained himself and explained the reason behind his reaction. Actually, in the ring I go by the name ’Mad Dog’ – he blurted out.

And she could believe that. The man worked hard. Yeo Jin actually praised him as one of the best dancers in the group. Well, on their level. For a thirty-two year beginner he was doing okay.

“So?” He asked with a hopeful smile. “Will you come with us? I will buy you a round of anything you like. Well. Let’s make that two. I will buy something for this young lady here as well” he winked at Yeo Jin before turning back to the older woman.

Ji Hyo eyed him for a while, then cracked a smile. Free beer is always tempting.

“I will take a shower” she said with a chuckle and walked past the boxer.

“Is that a yes?” He called after her, again, too loud.

“You will see” the woman answered with a light wave of her hand. She switched off her music still blasting, gathered her things from the chair next to the vinyl and walked out of the room without sparing even a glance to the man. “I will call you” she whispered to Yeo Jin when she reached her, and left the room.

The guy is harmless - Yeo Jin assured her when Ji Hyo complained about the unwanted attention to her. She said that the man was an honest one and while he is a fierce fighter, he has a soft heart. They all seem like that in the beginning, Ji Hyo thought, but she still couldn’t bring herself to hate the man. He did seem honest. Even if she didn’t want anything from him, she still didn’t really want to be rude towards him. He didn’t deserve it. She shouldn’t hate all men because a few did her wrong. It’s her baggage to deal with.

She might go. Not for the company, but for the free beer, she told herself. She will order the most expensive one the pub could offer if she is there. Yeah, why not. Maybe that European brand she heard about recently! She had nothing to lose. Free beer, it is.

~*~

Cigarette smoke, root beer and sweat lingered in the air.

Even with the little to no oxygen in the room, it was suffocating at all. No. It felt liberating to say the least. The roar of deep and hearty laughter emerged from the throat of the men around her after the punchline of the last joke Ji Hyo didn’t even hear. She smiled at them while sipping her beer. The third one actually. Even Yeo Jin let herself to drink a little as well, mainly shots. Being around people who were downright easy-going felt reassuring. The people of her life up until now mainly consisted of bossy and beyond strict dance instructors, mean teachers, backstabbing women and cunning men. These people here didn’t offer anything and didn’t ask for anything either. Besides her taste in alcohol of course. Having her there was enough for them which surprised her. They actually laughed at some of her sarcastic remarks too, which other people never really understood.

Only one person didn’t do so.

Kim Jong Kook, she learned his name that night. He was one weird human being and she never encountered anyone even similar to him. He declined anything other than mineral water and refrained from munching on the salted peanuts in the middle of the table as well. He rarely spoke to anyone, let alone cracking a joke. It was as if he felt out of place, which Ji Hyo though she could understand. The look in his eyes mirrored hers when no one was watching. He was somewhere else, his mind took him to faraway places but not because he wanted to be there. Bad memories popped up in his mind now and then, the little flinches and grimaces told him off. Ji Hyo saw it all.

Around midnight the boys started to sing songs that they learned in the army. Grabbing each other by the shoulders or raising their glasses to the tune, they sang loudly from their stomach. This was the moment Ji Hyo chose to leave, when they were too caught up to pay her any attention. Grabbing her coat and purse, she sneaked out only waving good bye to Yeo Jin who sat at the other end of the table. The woman only waved back not stopping her at all. Ji Hyo knew that Yeo Jin wouldn’t think she would stay this long at all, even this made her beyond satisfied.

On her way towards the front door, she got her coat on and hung her purse on her shoulder. While pulling the loose strands of hair that got stuck under her coat, she heard a man talking to someone just outside the opened door.

“You dummy, I told you. I can’t go there now… No, whatever, I’m tired of saving your …” A sigh emerged from his throat. „It will be okay, Kwang Soo-yah, just drink two glass of water, sober up and go home.”

She eavesdropped for a bit realizing that it was probably only one person talking on the phone, then headed out of the door only stopping to check her purse for her packet of cigarette. She wasn’t that much if a smoker, but she had the habit of lighting a few cigarettes after drinking with friends. Stressful times got her smokig as well.

“I will visit you tomorrow, okay? My mother would surely cook her hungover soup for you.”

While the woman lit up the cigarette, the man told her good-byes and decided to go back inside. Ji Hyo glanced up just as the man was about to walk past her. Their eyes met, holding onto each other for a long moment, before both of them acknowledged the other one fully. It was him, King Jong Kook again. Not that Ji Hyo payed any attention to the man, but a man of his size is just not that easy to look past in a crowd of people. There was no difference that night either, she did notice that he left quite a while ago. She thought he already went home. He wasn’t drinking anyway. It looked like he didn’t.

“Oh, good evening” told her the man, nodding at her direction. Just by looking at her face, he was sure the woman was younger than him, but still ended up greeting her first out of politeness.

Ji Hyo smiled, finding the scene amusing. Men, well, the ones who didn’t know her, tended to be polite in her presence. She would never admit that aloud, but she tended to use this talent of hers often when she was younger. She could get anything. Her intimidating stare – which was actually her face in its resting state – did help with that as well.

“We meet again” Ji Hyo stated. She turned her head away while blowing the smoke out in another direction so she wouldn’t be rude. Then she glanced back at the man looking mischievous. “I might as well think that you are a stalker of mine.” They did meet a few times, always in similar situations. The first time, he watched her when she was dancing alone. A few days later Ji Hyo also felt as if she was being watched and saw the man standing alone in the hallway. He was on his phone and watched her through the small window on the door. He got pretty anxious about it quicly. Later he walked into Yeo Jin’s office while the two women were chatting there together.

A slight shade of pink appeared on his cheeks, much to her delight. A small smile crept onto her lips as she exhaled the smoke. The man pressed his lips into a thin line and tried to brush his embarrassment away.

“I really don’t intend to…”

“Sure” Smiled Ji Hyo, bringing the cigarette to . The man followed her motion, watching as her red, lipstick covered lips circled the , the released it. She kept the smoke in for several seconds and waited for the man to notice himself, which he did, eventually. When she breathed out the white clouds, he shook his head lightly and turned his head away, taking his thoughts elsewhere. Because Ji Hyo was sure, oh so sure, thoughts were there. She brushed the remains of her cigarette against the trash bin and glanced back at the man. People always had ill thoughts about her. Not that she didn’t know her beauty was above average, but that didn’t mean it doesn’t bother her sometimes. Not this time, though. There was something in his eyes that didn’t wake up the waves of nausea in her stomach. He didn’t look like a bad person.

“Are you going home?” The sound of his voice woke her up from her thoughts. She glanced at him, but he was still watching the cars passing by, the only source of noise in the dead of the night.

Ji Hyo watched him for a while, then nodded. “When there is more drunk than sober people in one place, it’s always a sign to depart.”

“Right. I follow a similar philosophy.” He smiled lightly, a memory washed over his mind, she could see it on her face. “Only difference is I take the most drunken ones home with me to avoid trouble.” He turned his head towards the woman and his warm eyes found hers. “Do you live nearby?”

Ji Hyo sighed, thinking of the long walk ahead of herself. “No, not really. In Seongdong-gu.”

“That is… indeed not that close” He nodded.

“So, I might as well get going.” She was about to close the conversation, but she could sense in his behavior that he wasn’t on the same mindset.

“Please, wait…” He called after her, lost of words.

“Song Ji Hyo” the woman helped him out, as it was clear he had the problem of remembering her name. Not that they had formally introduced themselves to each other yet.

“Song Ji Hyo-ssi…” he nodded, taking a step towards her.

“Yes?” She arched her eyebrows elegantly. The man reached up with his hand to brush the back of his head. He was embarrassed which was kind of weird. She didn’t know the man, not even the least, aside from his name. Yet he didn’t seem like a person who gets intimidated by anyone. He just had a different presence.

He straightened his back and said something Ji Hyo felt was different from what he intended that sentence to be. “It’s… late.”

“You are right” Ji Hyo answered calmly, a small smirk appearing in the corners of her lips. “You must be good at quizzes.”

“No, I’m…” He sighed, then shook his head, sporting a defeated grin. “I just didn’t know whether it would be appropriate to offer my guidance on your way home. We don’t know each other that well, but I would gladly…”

“Thank you” said Ji Hyo, shaking her head and showed a cocky grin. “But I’m a big girl. I tie my shoe laces alone, I think I might be able to walk the dark of the streets as well.”

“Well… I didn’t intend to…” Jong Kook started, looking puzzled, but he wasn’t able to finish his sentence.

“Man, you here?”

A male voice came from inside the pub and soon Kang Hee Gun – or Gary as he called himself sometimes – appeared, looking totally wasted. His steps wobbled here and there, and his eyes seemed almost closed. By sleepiness or the bliss of the alcohol, she didn’t know.

“Hee Gun-ah” Jong Kook sighed and stepped to him, steadying the younger one with a strong palm pressed to his shoulder.

“Looks like somebody needs your help more” Ji Hyo said with a smile.

“Wait, Ji Hyo-ssi, are you going home?” Gary asked, looking utterly surprised. No way, it’s like… It isn’t even past midnight yet.”

“Pal, it’s past 2 am already.” Jong Kook reminded him patiently.

“Yes. So I will bid my farewells” Ji Hyo said with a slight bow. “Good night.” She turned around to head home, but Gary called after her, making her stop.

“’was nice to have you here. Let’s meet again!”

Ji Hyo just smiled at him, then raised her glance to meet Jong Kook’s eyes. They lacked any emotion, not giving away anything he felt. “We might” the woman said, and turned away, walking down the street.

The two men watched her until she turned right at a corner. Gary then released his breath that he had been holding in since, lowering his head.

“You okay?” Jong Kook asked, his voice a bit raspy, as he steadied the younger one with two hands.

“Yeah” Gary sighed, his head hanging low. Jong Kook urged him to head back into the pub, one hand always on his shoulder. “Hyung” Jong Kook glanced at him, frowning. Gary rarely drank himself emotional, but it looked like he did this time. “I think I’m doing a mistake.”

“What mistake?” Jong Kook asked, genuinely curious.

Gary raised his head and stared intensely in the other man’s orbs. “I’m falling in love with someone I shouldn’t.”

The shape of Song Ji Hyo walking away, came to his mind. How her legs looked so thin and nice even in the baggy jeans she wore. The long, dark locks that waved with every graceful step she took. The knowing look in her eyes when she turned back. Her pale face and the dark lips that almost pooped out. Everything she did make her look above average. Make her seem like a person that he wants to get to know better. Intensely. Deeply. Intimately.

And Gary, his friend loves her.

“It’s okay, Hee Gun-ah” Jong Kook patted him on the shoulder and they continued their way back towards the table. The music that played in the background was muted by the words still echoing in his mind.

We meet again. I might as well think that you are a stalker of mine.

He shook his head. He would better forget about it at all.