Zico

We walked around the Busan Aquarium looking at the stingrays and sea jellies in the underground aquarium. I and Jae Rim stood at the tank hand in hand looking at the stingrays and sea jellies.

“Zico!” I felt Jae Rim tag on my hand.

“Yeah” I looked down at her, smiling.

“Can I follow the kids over there?” She asked, pointing to a group of children with cream white squid hats on.

“Why?”

“I heard them saying that they were going to go look at baby tiger sharks and baby sand sharks. Can I go with them?”

“Ah…ummm…. I think those kids are on a school field trip but I don’t think it’ll hurt to go and ask them if you can join” I sashayed over to the adult figure of the children with Jae Rim trailing behind.

“May I help you?” The brown headed, big eyed looking old man asked.

“Ummm….. My little sister wants to know if she can follow you guys to go see the sharks”

“No I’m sorry we’re on a school field trip. But if you still want to go see the sharks, it’s on the other side of the aquarium” He said, bowing. I bowed and walked back to our spot.

“Zico….I can’t go with them?”

“Sorry to tell you. They’re on a school field trip but we can still see the sharks if you still want to go?” I bent down to her height, waiting for her answer.

“Okay”

“See what sharks?” Eun Ji asked, walking towards us.

“We were thinking about going to the other side of the aquarium to see the sharks”

“Really? Can I come along?”

“Sure but I need to go tell hyung first” I let go of Jae Rim and walk towards Gary.

“Gary, I and the girls are going to see the sharks. Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah but meet us by the entrance by 3:30pm” he said. I nodded my head while slowly walking backwards. I turned around and walked back to Jae Rim and Eun Ji.

“So what did he say?” Eun Ji asked, twirling her hair.

“We can go but we need to meet up with the rest at 3:30pm at the entrance” I started walking ahead while speaking. Jae Rim held my hand and Eun Ji walked beside me as we neared the shark aquarium.

“Why do girls always twirl their hair like you did earlier? Why do you girls always do that?”  We continued walking until we reached the area where the baby tiger sharks and baby sand sharks were before Eun Ji finally answered my question.

“I don’t know. It becomes a habit once you have hair on your head. Some people blow up their bangs if they have one and others just twirl their hair. Like I twirl my hair sometimes. I don’t know why I do it though. Probably because it’s just within an arm’s reach that’s maybe why I do it”

“Oh okay. I wonder why guys don’t do it.” I thought as I brought my free hand to comb through my hair.

“Zico, can you carry me up so that I can see that thingy right…..” Jae Rim asked as she pulled me down to her height. I squint my eyes to get a better look at what she was pointing at.

“That’s a squid” I got up, stretching out my back before squatting down again.

“Okay Ms. JR, get on” I said. Jae Rim let out a giggle before seating herself on my shoulder with a short legs resting on my chest. I got back up on my feet, surprised at how light Jae Rim weighed.

“Jae Rim, how big are you?” I asked,

“I don’t know”

“She’s about 19kg (41 pounds) the last time I checked” Eun Ji answered, taking out an off white instant camera.

“When was the last time she went in for a checkup?”

"It was about 3 months ago. She got a mild fever and I rushed her to the hospital"

"Oh! What happened that she got a fever?" I questioned

"She stayed out too long in the sun, playing soccer with some neighborhood kids. She came home complaining of feeling dizzy and light headed. I gave her a small dose of painkiller thinking it would sooth the pain and make it go away but boy was I wrong! We ate and went to bed as usual. Around midnight, Tae Woo woke me up from my deep coma complaining of Jae Rim weeping and holding her head. We rushed her to the E.R and they got her stabilized"

I squeezed Jae Rim's small hands, giving her a smile.

"Hey I want to take some pictures!" Eun Ji suddenly said, holding up the camera.

"Okay" I walked towards the aquarium and turned around facing Eun Ji

"Okay 1 ,2,3 CHEESE!" Eun Ji counts down. I flashed a smile as the camera flashed. I blinked a few times trying to regain consciousness.

"Picture ready!" Eun Ji called out. I opened my eyes to find her walking towards me.

"Can you put me down?" Jae Rim asked, tagging my hands. I nodded my head like an idiot and placed my hands on her little hips, making sure not to squeeze too hard as I placed her on the ground.

“Here look. The picture came out so good!” Eun Ji grinned as she squatted down on the ground. I got on one knee and peered over her shoulders to look at the picture.

“It looks really good. I like how there are no glares or lights in the background. And it’s so clear” I agreed as I slowly got back up.

“Eun Ji, let’s take a picture together”

“Okay okay, wait….” Eun Ji got up and walked around, asking people to take a picture of us. After a few rejections, she walked back towards us with a young man with jet black hair. He had dark brown deep set eyes, a chiseled nose, high cheekbones and pouty crimson red lips. He looked awfully familiar like I’ve seen him somewhere.

“Ok, here’s the camera. If you’re not busy, can you take a few pictures of us making faces?” She quickly ran towards us, standing in between Jae Rim and me.

“Ah… yeah I’m not busy at all” He answered, holding up the camera.

“Are you ready?” He asked

“Yes we are!” Eun Ji replied. I put my hands on Jae Rim’s shoulder and smiled my best smile as the camera flashed.

“Another one!” Jae Rim chirped, tagging my hands. I nodded my head, half there.

“Okay we’re going to try a different pose. Miss, why don’t you put the little girl on the man’s lap and you sit next to him on the ledge” The guy instructed, standing there with the camera watching as I was dragged and forced to sit on the ledge. Eun Ji placed Jae Rim on my lap and sat herself next to me.

“Here we go! Everyone KIMCHI!” He shouted, taking the picture. And once again I was blinded for a moment before regaining my awareness of where I was.

“Let’s take one more” Eun Ji said excitedly.

“I’m hungry!” Jae Rim whined, attempting to get up.

“Okay just one more picture and we’ll go and eat”

“Okay” Jae Rim got off my lap and ran to stand next to the young man. I placed my hands on Eun Ji’s back and pulled her closer until we were practically sitting on each other’s lap. I looked down at Eun Ji’s shocked face.

“Hey what? This is a picture we’re taking here” I said, winking before turning away.

“Smile!” The man said, flashing the camera. Eun Ji quickly got up after the picture was taken. I watched as she and the man exchanged a few words. Her reaction and her childish giggles as he said something funny. I sat there not wanting to disturb their happy moment, but I couldn’t help but feel jealous and angry. I got up and approached them with my hands in my pockets. As I was getting closer, I was able to hear what they were talking about.

“Hey, it was nice meeting you Eun Ji” The man said, slowly walking away.

“Yeah it was nice meeting you too! Hope to see you around sometime” Eun Ji waved at the man before turning around.

“Oh hey Zico!” She cheerfully greeted, walking towards me. I stopped in front of her and looked at the man walking away. Slowly vanishing into the sea of people.

“Who was that?” I asked curiously.

“Oh that’s one of my new friends.” She grabbed onto Jae Rim’s hand, walking away.

“What? You guys are strangers” I grabbed her free hand and pulled her back, totally not believing what I just heard.

“He’s not a stranger now.”

“Sure he isn’t. How old is he? What’s his name, huh? I bet you didn’t even bother to find out since you were so busy giggling like a stupid idiot” I fumed, getting mad.

“Quit getting all worked up Zico! His name is Yoo Seung Ho and he’s 19 years old” She pushed my hand away and began walking away. Oh! That’s his name. Seung Ho. The notorious Seung Ho of Gangseo District. I looked up to see Eun Ji and Jae Rim far ahead of me.

I ran up to catch up to them. I grabbed Jae Rim’s hand as I fell into place with them.

“Eun Ji….” I called out, looking ahead.

“Yeah”

“Be careful. Don’t interact with people you don’t know, okay” I looked at her.

“….okay…Zico….you’re starting to scare me” She chuckled a bit, looking ahead. I shook my head, not wanting to try anymore. It’s her life. Let her handle it as she pleases.

We walked in silence as we neared the group.