Chapter 10- Labels

Rescue Me

She kept tapping her shoes. She was definitely anxious. She prepared herself that day. For some weird reason, she actually had the desire to dress herself up; fix her hair, put on a little bit of make up, wear platform heels. Even when she was preparing herself this morning, Luna was surprised Amber fixing herself to such an extent.

Earlier that day,

"Aigoo unnie, where in the world are you going? Some convention or something??" Luna said as she arrived from their trip.

Amber didn't answer. She kept running back and forth looking for the right set of clothes to go well with her look.

"Unnie? Unnie!"

"Can't you see I'm busy? Why don't you just help me? Have you seen my leather biker jacket??"

"It's in your second closet."

"Thanks.."

"Now, going back, where are you going?"

"I'm going to meet Key. Besides, what are you doing here? I thought you have this trip or something?"

"Ah, yeah. We finished earlier  than expected. Apparently, they said we didn't need further workshops. Are you going on a date?"

"Yes." Amber said as she finished swiping the lipstick on her lips.

"Wait, wait.. You're leaving already?? It's only 8am!"

"We're supposed to meet at 9am. Bye! Take care of the place while I'm gone."

And she left.

It was fifteen minutes before 9am but Amber felt like it've been forever. She then saw someone fast approaching. It was Key. He looked sharp that day. Far from his ragged jeans, working boots and furry hooded jacket, Key wore jeans, sneakers and preppy top. He also wore a hat to compliment the outfit.

"Well, how do I look?"

"You look. Sharp. Really different on how I usually see you.."

"So, where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. Malls aren't open yet. Want to go to the open market? It's just a few blocks from here.."

"Yeah sure."

Key then took a grip of Amber's hand. Amber didn't expect it all. Her eyes widened by his touch. But instead of letting go, she tightened her grip. She likes it. It  felt warm.

They arrived at the open market. Amber loved going to that place. She gets to buy vintage pieces without having to spend a fortune. There were a variety of items; from shoes, dresses, shirts, pants, accessories, bags, name it. Whatever you ask, they have. It's even better to shop there at night. Similar to Hong Kong night market, it was a thrill to see the lights fill up the place.

"Oppa, if you want anything. Tell me okay??"

"Yeah sure."

Key lied. He actually had enough money to spend something for himself that day. However, a pair of earrings definitely caught his attention. They were asymmetrical earrings, meaning each ear stud looks different but will only come in pairs. It had a feminine and masculine sign. He remembered Amber just by looking at it. It was inevitable. Amber does have some masculine features such as her sharp jawline and happy go lucky attitude but she has this femininity which he had the privilege to witness. He bought it when Amber wasn't looking.

"Did you see anything oppa?"

"Nah. Didn't really find anything interesting. Come on, wanna watch a movie??"

"Sure!"

Malls were already open. They headed to the nearest mall to catch a movie. There weren't a lot of movies to choose from.

"Oppa, do you like horror movies?"

Key shook his head.

"How about action? See that Hunger  Games? I've read the book. Rave reviews had been written about it. Wanna watch it?"

"Okay. There isn't really anything better to watch."

"Okay. I'll go get the tickets."

"Got it. Oh, wait! I'll be getting the popcorn okay? No buts."

Amber just nodded.

They headed inside. The theater wasn't jampacked since its only the first screening of the day. People weren't yet in the mood to swarm movie theaters.
They watched the movie patiently. Amber keeps telling bits of info about the book to Key and state whether the movie adheres to the literature. The movie ended before they even realized. To tell the truth, they weren't able to watch the movie. They just busied themselves talking about the most random of things, good thing people didn't mind.

It was still early. The time was ripe enough for them to eat lunch but they got stuffed from eating the popcorn and drinking all the soda.

"Where do you want to go next?" Key asked.

"I don't really know. I'm not in the mood to go to an amusement park or something."

Key thought long and hard. He then stood up and dragged Amber.

"Mwo, wait wait.. Where are we going?" She asked as they were running.

"No more talking. Just follow me!"

They rode a bus to some random place. Apparently, it wasn't really a random place. It was near to Key's place.

"Are we going to your house?"

"Nope. We have a park near our house about 5 blocks away. It may seem far but not really. There are a lot of kids that play there. We can play with them if you want."

Amber wasn't really enthusiastic with the whole idea. She doesn't do well with kids. They arrived. Key was right. There were a lot of children there. She couldn't count them but she was certain there were more than 10 kids playing in such a small place.

"Hey kids!" Key shouted.

All of them turned around. "Key appa!!!!" They shouted.

"Appa?" Amber muttered.

"How are we all today??"

"We're good. How about you appa?" A little girl asked.

"I'm good."

"Appa? Who is she? Is she our eomma?"

"Mwo? Who? Oh, her. Yeah.. She is your new eomma. Her name is Amber.. She's really pretty isn't she?"

"Neh!" They replied.

Key then gathered the kids close and whispered to them.

The kids then gathered towards Amber. Amber was a little flustered.. "Yes?"

"Amber eomma! Welcome!!!" The kids shouted as they clapped.

Amber smiled and looked at Key. She then replied to the kids.. "Thank you.."

"Go on kids. Go back to playing.. Give me and eomma some time.."

The kids just laughed as they went back to playing.

"They really seem to like you.."

"Yeah? Well..These kids may seem happy but most of them lost their parents at a young age."

"Mwo?"

"You see that little girl over there? Her name is Lin Shen. Her parents are Chinese but apparently her parents sold her to her current Korean parents in exchange for money. Her current parents can't bear children so they opted to adopt. They went to China because a relative of theirs knew someone willing to give up their kid. That little boy over there? I call him GoonGoon. Both of his parents are alive but his father is sick. He had to stay out of school so that his mom can fend for his father's medicine. I'm not related to these kids but since I live nearby, I felt this urge to somewhat help them. I give them treats sometimes. Food, candy, ice cream. They appreciate everything. They started calling me appa one day. I didn't really mind."

Amber then noticeably counted how many children there were.

"I'll be right back."

Amber left the playground. Key wasn't sure where the girl was going. 20 minutes passed and she came back carrying two large bags of ice cream cones. 

"Kids! Look what eomma and appa bought for you!" She shouted.

The kids flocked.

"I'll be giving each one of you okay? But please form a line so everyone can get one."

The kids followed. Amber gave each kid a cone. Their smiles were enough to show how thankful they were.. There was a total of 19 kids. Amber bought an extra two for Key and her.

They spent majority of the afternoon playing with the kids and running around. Amber liked kids for once in her life. However, 6:00pm came sooner so the kids had to go home. Amber and Key were left sitting down at the bench.

"You're right. Those kids are great." Amber remarked.

"Amber can I blindfold you for a while?"

"Excuse me?"

"Trust me. I won't do anything funny. But please, allow me to blindfold you."

"Okay."

Key then blindfolded Amber. Amber was really nervous. She can't predict what Key was up to. It took a good 30 minutes before Key decided to remove the blindfold.

"Okay, open your eyes."

Amber's eyes took some time to adjust to the light. The place was surely bright.

"Where are we?"

She asked that until she realized they were at a restaurant located within one of the high floors of Namsan Tower.

"Oh my gosh. Why are we here?"

"I reserved us a table for dinner here. I wanted to thank you properly for everything you've done for me and my grandma. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all. But isn't this a bit expensive?"

"No. It was actually cheaper than what I had expected. Come."

Key gently led the way. He reserved a table located near a window.

"Hope you aren't afraid of heights?"

"Nope. Not at all."

Amber looked at Key. She was almost in tears just by thinking how wonderful her day had been. She wondered however why Key's stare started to change.

"Amber?" She froze. She knew that voice.

"Amber? What are you doing here?" She turned around. Indeed, it was Henry. He was  alone. Henry isn't aware that Amber saw him with a woman the other day.

"Henry? Hi.." She said softly.

Henry took a seat. "I haven't seen you for so long. How have you been?"

"I.. I've a been doing well. Business is really good so far."

"Who are you with? Is he a friend? Omo. You should introduce me."

"I don't think.."

"Come on. What's so wrong with introducing me to your new friend over here."

Key looked at Amber. He noticed that Amber was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"I don't mean to be rude, Mr. Henry is it? But you don't seem to understand that we are having dinner." Key said in such a stern manner.

"Excuse me?" Henry retorted.

Amber froze.

"I believe Amber and I have our right to choose who we dine with. And to be honest, we prefer to eat just the two of us."

"You don't seem to know who you're talking to, who are you anyway? punk?!" Henry stood up. 

Key stood up as well. "Allow me to repeat myself. I think we'd prefer to eat just the two of us. Oh, by the way, I'm Amber's boyfriend. So I suggest for you to leave before I call security.. punk?!" 

"I'm done here." Henry brushed and left soon.

Key sat down.

"Thank you. Thank you so much.." 

Key then held Amber's hand.

"Amber look at me. Look at me!"

Amber stared straight into Key's eyes.

"Forget about him.. Don't ever dare think about him. I'm here. Look only at me. You don't need trash like him."

She just nodded. She only needed his words. She was fine.

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Another update. Hoho! :) I've been really enjoying school lately and I'm hoping this would continue like this.

Finally! Key finally proclaimed that they are official boyfriend and girlfriend! He was sure brave to confront Henry like that. What do you think Henry was doing up in Namsan tower? Also, didn't you wonder how Key was able to afford such a reservation? Take note of these minute details yah? :) Stay tuned for the next chappie!

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Comments

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Kyoko99
#1
Chapter 45: I have my finals only 15days ahead and here i'm reading keyber stories and wasting my precious study hours ...but the thing is I dont regret it with this piece ...i was reading it silently & it was dabaek :D ^^
taipanda #2
Chapter 44: Lo lei todo xD me gusto... no se si nana existira pero la odio xD keyber y myungber <3
ILoveShineeEffects #3
Chapter 1: The man who broke up with Amber was Henry?
DjTinkDome #4
Chapter 45: Loved this story!!! I had fun reading it. I've also read your other five and they are really good. Keep up the good work.
Emery101
#5
Chapter 34: Chapter 33: OMG 0.0 that's my favorite song I'll Be by Edwin McCain :D
moyamoyo #6
Chapter 45: Hi me again! Hahaahaa i love all your fics really, this one is as awesome as else. I would like to thanks you to make amazing keyber fics, i have no idea what to say, i'm really grateful hahaha thanks for the awesome fic authornim ♡ ♡ ♡
Winry84 #7
I very love your story, I think it's the best fiction that I read from KeyBer pairing :D Continue like this ! (Sorry for my bad english)
TheonLaertes #8
finish read this story in one day.. really love it~♡
Ilonahaku #9
@retrolovemadness
I was really happy with the epilogue, so I showed my happiness in the comments. ;) Thank you very much for your kind words, I am thankful, too. ♥

There were many sweet moments, therefore I was so ecstatic after reading the epilogue! :D I like cheesiness, but I think it wasn´t too cheesy. ;) It was a happy ending, and happy endings can be very sweet, right? :)

Awww, glad to know that they are married. I would like to know how their wedding turned out, but I am already satisfied with the events which you revealed after they met. :D
Thanks for explaining the meaning behind "yeobo", I know these words just from dramas. :)

Aww, I would like to spend some time in a rest house, too! :D Haha, right, Key is rich, so he can afford something like that. XD

I feel really good, that everyone had a happy ending. ^^
And I am really glad that the you are satisfied with the epilogue, too! :D It is great that it turned out better than you expected. :D

I usually don´t have favourite quotes from fanfics, but the lines, which I highlighted in the previous comment, really grabbed my heart. :D

Haha, no need to bow in gratitude! I am grateful that you spent your time on writing this story. ;) And you are more than welcome! ;)
retrolovemadness #10
@Ilonahaku I'm actually really happy with your comments. You're one of the most enthusiastic readers I've had and I'm really thankful. :)There were a lot of "sweet" moments at the epilogue. Actually, while reading I said to myself, "Isn't it a bit too cheesy?" But yeah. I like it that way.. Yeah! They're already married in case you're wondering.. "Yeobo" is more of a "honey" or "darling" term. They formally address husband and wife as nampyeon and jagiya.. I just found it better to have Key call Amber yeobo.. :)

I guess the scene was like a rest house? They're at a secluded place or something for the family and closest friends to enjoy? Key is rich so he can pretty much rent/buy one. XD Anyways, it's something like that.. Which why Amber was "relaxed".

I wanted to wish everyone a happy ending so I guess it was fitting to give them one.

The epilogue turned out to be better than I expected actually..

Again, thank you. It really means a lot that you like.. And to think you actually had a quote you really liked. If I could only see you in person, I would've bowed in gratitude. Thank you so much! :D