14
Miss. Trouble
Leerang’s eyes fluttered open and she moved about, her body felt a bit sore, which didn’t come as a surprise when she noticed that she’d fallen asleep on the couch. Thoughts about what’d happened the day before came flooding back and the girl panicked, she couldn’t remember that Chanyeol had gone home. “Slept well?” his voice startled her so much that she almost fell off the couch. Turning around Leerang looked up to meet his gaze, “w -why are you still here?” the girl felt uneasy, especially since she was uncertain to how her mother would react if she ever were to find out that her daughter let a boy sleep over. “I sort of fell asleep, too.” Chanyeol laughed, totally unfazed that he’d slept over there. Leerang though, was practically freaking out, “y -y -you’re not a ert, right?” god, why hadn’t she told him to leave earlier, when she had the chance and before they both fell asleep?
More laughter filled the living room, “me, never.” Kai and Sehun was his friends, but he hadn’t been that influenced by them. No, such behaviour could the two younger boys keep to themselves. “Why, are you scared I would do something?” Leerang blinked up at him, the serious tone sounded weird when his face displayed that huge smile of his. “M -maybe.” flustered by her own reply she broke their little staring contest. On the contrary, it wasn’t like she knew that much about him. “You don’t have to worry about that then, because I won’t force you into something you don’t want.” for some weird reason did his statement cause Leerang to blush.
Awkwardness filled the air for a moment, one that Chanyeol broke when he spotted something on her chin, “there’s some drool on your chin.” the boy chuckled when watching how she wiped it away with the back of her hand. Leerang avoided looking at him as she stood up, it was as if such things always happened around boys. With a pulse that was steadily increasing she excused herself, “do whatever you want.” Chanyeol grinned whilst the girl disappeared upstairs, she needed to take a shower and change clothes. What Leerang didn’t know though, was that such words were not supposed to be directed at the older male.
“hm, what can I do?” the boy spun around, searching for something he could entertain himself with. And It was out of pure coincidence that his eyes land on a DVD. Chanyeol’s eyes shined in happiness, as he reached out and grabbed a hold of the plastic case. “Girls’ Generation the first asia tour.” he read the title out loud, his heart skipping a beat.
“She won’t be mad, right? Well, she did after all tell me to do whatever.” Chanyeol shrugged his shoulder, he could always buy her a new one if it broke. So, all the whilst the boy occupied himself with getting the DVD to work did Leerang step into the shower. She couldn’t believe that he’d slept over, no boy had ever done that before. A sigh slipped from her parted lips, “at least he didn’t do anything.” bad memories entered her mind and the girl frowned. It became obvious that she had to surround herself with either Chanyeol or Lay if she were to attend any more parties. Those two were the only ones who hadn’t tried anything funny.
“Gee, gee, gee, gee, baby, baby ~~” Leerang tilted her head to the side as she carefully climbed down the stairs, “Chanyeol?” she gaped upon seeing him dance to Girls’ Generation’s Gee. Trying to remain unnoticed she hid against the wall, but the way he was dancing made it hard for the girl to keep in her laughter. Dancing was maybe not his forte. All of a sudden though, did he spun around and their gazes locked, “having fun?” a smile spread on her lips, one she shielded away with the back of her hand once guilt took over, “sorry, I shouldn’t laugh at you.” Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, “so I’m that horrible.” Leerang could almost feel her heart squeeze together as even more guilt consumed her, “no, I mean, yes, ehm -.” tears pricked her eyelids, she was messing it up all over again.
“hey, hey, I was just joking.” the boy darted forward, totally forgetting all about his precious Girls’ Generation, “don’t cry.” she couldn’t help it, as the feeling of being rejected and left alone was so deeply rooted within the girl. A bad past still haunted Leerang and she would do about anything to get a friend. “Don’t ever feel sorry for being happy.” how could the boy say that when he was the one she’d laughed at. “I laughed at you, so why aren’t you upset?” she stated and Chanyeol felt his heart soften, “Isn’t that normal when you’re friends. You ridicule yourself and then laugh it off together.” that’s at least what he and his group of friends did. But then again, Leerang was also different. The impression he got of her was that she didn’t seem to have any friends.
“Friends?” the girl sniffled, afraid that she’d misunderstood his sentence. “Friends.” he smiled, thus showing of the whole face dance of his, “you’re not mad then?” Chanyeol flicked her forehead, “foolish girl, of course I’m not mad.” how could he possibly be upset over such a small matter? Really, being laughed at was nothing in comparison to what his friends would do, as Kai and Sehun were both mischievous when it came to pranks. Chanyeol knew because he had fallen victim of them several times. The girl calmed down after awhile, something the boy was more than relieved over, “no more tears now, alright.” Leerang nodded although she understood that it was going to be hard. To see and treat him as a friend would take some time to get used to.
In the midst of it all did her cell phone ring, and the girl dashed upstairs to take the call. “Leerang.” she felt a huge weight drop from her shoulders as it’d always been a nightmare of hers, that her father wouldn’t return home one day. “Dad I missed you.” she couldn’t help but to cry again. Ever since the divorce had she become more and more attached to her father, whilst she’d drifted further apart from her mother. The choice of lifestyle played a huge part in that. “I missed you as well,” there was a brief pause before the man continued, “could buy me some food, the fridge is empty.” Leerang should’ve understood the second she answered that he needed money, “did you use all your salary already?” only a week and a half had passed since he received it. “I was robbed on my way home, I couldn’t do anything.” lie, how likely was it to be robbed twice in six months?
He could lie to her all he wanted, but Leerang knew where the money went. The man had gambled them away, just like usual. However, he was also her father, someone who’d raised her, “fine.” there was no reason to start an argument on how he needed to start taking responsibility over his own life. He wouldn’t listen. “Buy some soju, too.” disappointment washed over her, “I’m not ol -.” the line died, “dad? Dad?” she pulled the phone away when there was no reply. How could he expect her to buy soju when she wasn’t even old enough to do so?
Leerang stared down on the electronic device, wondering what her father would do if he didn’t have her to help him out. But it was starting to become a bit tiring, especially when her mother began questioning what she used her money for. It wasn’t like the girl came home with several shopping bags each and every day. In fact, Leerang bought new clothes maybe once or twice a month.
She headed downstairs once she’d changed into more fitting clothes. Her schoolbooks and uniform was lying in the backpack whilst she held onto her sketchpad. It was safest that way, as the girl didn’t want it to be destroyed. “Chanyeol sshi, I’m going over to my father’s house.” the boy looked up from what he was doing when she came down, “oh, well, I shouldn’t bother you anymore.” Leerang was immensely glad that he didn’t try anything. Mainly because her father wouldn’t like it if she brought a guy there. “T -thank you.” once again did she blush, embarrassed.
~~
Clutching the sketchpad closer to her chest she entered the supermarket. The ahjumma greeted her with a warm smile, one she returned as she grabbed onto a basket. “Ahjumma, is it okay if I buy soju? It’s for my dad.” the old woman was someone they’d bought all their food from throughout the years. In other terms, someone who knew about her father’s drinking habits. “Only one bottle okay, your father shouldn’t drink so much.” Leerang bowed to show her gratefulness, “thank you.”
A few minutes later were the basket almost full with groceries, everything from meat to bread and the only thing left was to get the soju. The bottles were lined up in the fridges standing along one of the walls. A small problem arose though, when she got there and couldn’t get the fridge open as her hands were full. “Why couldn’t I have a third arm?” without another choice she put the basket down and then proceeded to pull the glass door open. Reaching out she let her hand slip around the fragile bottle, “finally.” she spun around, totally forgetting that other customers could be there, something which resulted in that she bumped right into someone.
The suddenness of it all caused the bottle to slip from her hand and Leerang, in haste, dropped the sketchpad. The girl was lucky and managed to get a hold of the bottle before it smashed against the hard floor. Her heart raced as she straightened up, “look ou -.” Leerang cut herself short when her gaze landed upon him, Kris. He wasn’t looking at her though, but rather something lying on the floor. Tilting her head to the side she followed his gaze, “oh god.” she practically dove forward as the sketchpad had flipped open so that the drawing of him was displayed for the whole world to see. “You’re not one of them, right.” Kris muttered in a sarcastic tone. Of course, she was just like any other girl who saw him as nothing more than that, a handsome appearance.
“You’re wrong.” she slammed the sketchpad close, “I’m wrong, really?” Kris found the whole conversation pointless, but remained as he wanted to hear her excuse. “I’m not a part of some fanclub of yours if that’s what you think.” Leerang straightened up, hugging the sketchpad towards her chest as she did. “Why else would you draw me?” the boy urged her on, he wanted to know the truth, “because of your expression that day. You looked so vulnerable.” the girl expected to be laugh at, people didn’t understand how important it was to her, art.
Kris was taken aback for a moment. The day she was referring to was one he could still remember, mainly because it was a day when his mother came home late. It was true though, he’d been anxious. But even so, his actions that day had been quite noticeable, “don’t think you know me just because of that.” the boy snapped, an ordeal that made her frown, “you’re mean.” Leerang’s frown changed into a pout when he spoke, “no, I’m honest.”
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