Round Ninety-Six

Young wasn’t sure what hit him but it sure felt like some sort of a large dog welcoming him home. Okay. He was just kidding. He knew that it was Krystal who had barrelled head first into his arms but he wasn’t sure why. She squeezed all the air out of him and had him gasping for breath by the time she let go.

“Er…Krys…what’s going on?”

She looked at him, her eyes gazing earnestly at him. “I want to apologize to you and I also want to tell you that I just fell completely in love with you.”

“You just—” Young shook his head to clear it. “What?”

“I love you. You’re so wonderful. And I’m very, very sorry. I really am.”

Young began to laugh despite his confusion. “Krys, it’s really great to hear that from you but what the heck is going on? What are you sorry about?” He blinked as Krystal rose on her toes to plant a sweet kiss on his lips. He was fully aware that the length of her body was pressed up against him. It felt too much like heaven to miss. Soft, pliant, luxurious. It was to die for.

He released her after she broke their kiss but she kept her arms locked around his neck.

“Can we go to your place?” she asked.

“My place?”

“Let’s go now.” She opened the door of his car and got in without waiting for him.

He was confuddled by the whole episode but got into his car and drove them to his apartment nonetheless.

~~~~~

He couldn’t help but wonder if she was coming on to him. It was hard to tell without knowing what had gotten into her. But there had to be an explanation for her unusual behaviour, surely.

Krystal hugged him from behind as soon as he shut the door of his apartment and it felt so good that he wished they could stay like this forever.

“Krys…I’m loving this but there’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”

Krystal merely squeezed him and continued to hug him. So even though it felt really good, he decided that he had to know the matter was with her. He pried her hands from his waist and turned around to face her.

“What’s gotten into you?”

“Young, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I just…I love you. That’s all.”

“That’s all?”

“I’ll never be able to love anybody else the way I love you.”

Young smiled tenderly and her hair. Krystal’s words were stirring up strong emotions in his heart.

“Why don’t you make yourself comfortable on the couch. I’ll make us a drink and you can take your time to tell me why you’re behaving like this.” Young turned and headed to his bar top counter and took out two glasses but Krystal followed him.

“Krys, you can go sit. I’ll make the drinks.”

Krystal did not budge. She remained glued to him. So he put the glasses down and turned to her again.

“Krys, you’re beginning to freak me out a little.”

Krystal said nothing. Her fingers glided down his forearms to hold his hand, fingers interlacing. His skin tingled from her touch and something inside him clicked. He leaned in and their lips met gently. He roved over her lips with his, nudging her body, pushing her against the bar top counter and he released her hands to wrap his arms around her waist.

Her arms found their way up to his neck and locked themselves around it. Her lips were as soft as cotton and as sweet as berries. And he was intoxicated by her scent that enveloped his senses. Their lips locked and parted, locked and parted, each exchange growing more and more intense as they went on. Breaths grew heavier, hearts beat faster and soon, their tongues found each other and began a sensuous tango that turned their legs into jelly.

All thoughts left the building as they went deeper and grew more and more passionate. Young had no idea how much time had passed during that kiss. And it didn’t seem important either, especially when he saw the look in Krystal’s eyes. Her eyes seemed to speak to him. They seemed to be asking for more as she held his gaze. From that point on, instinct took over.

~~~~~

How they ended up lying on his bed with him lying on top of her he would never know but he was painfully aware of the dangerous waters that he was in at the moment. Her kisses were driving him mad. The touch of her skin on his was driving him nuts. But despite it all, he somehow found it in him to stop Krystal from removing his shirt.

“Krys…” he panted, “what are you doing. Stop. Stop before I lose my mind.”

“But I want you to lose your mind…” she breathed and his breath caught in his throat.

“No,” he gasped, “not like this.”

“Young, let’s go all the way tonight.”

Young inhaled sharply. Hearing those words from Krystal made his blood race. Down south.

“Do you know what you’re saying?” he questioned her in a strained voice.

“I know.

“No.”

“Why?”

“It’s not supposed to be like that.”

“What’s it supposed to be like?”

“I don’t know. But this doesn’t feel right.”

“Why are you talking like a girl?”

“Why are you talking like a wham-bam-thank-you-mam kind of dude?”

Krystal looked as though she’d been slapped in the face and he felt like kicking himself.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I—” Young tried to explain but Krystal pushed him away and got off the bed. He followed her in a hurry only to freeze in his tracks when she turned around suddenly with hurt swimming in her eyes.

“Is this what it looks like to you?”

“Of course not, I was only—”

“Why won’t you take what I want to give you…?” she asked in a soft voice.

Young didn’t know what was happening. Why was Krystal so eager to give it all to him? “Krys, I’m sorry. Please. Don’t be sad.” He tried to hug her but she wouldn’t let him and he felt more and more frustrated to the point where he lost his cool. “KRYS WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU!”

His sudden outburst seemed to have stunned her and he took the chance to hug her tight.

“I don’t know what happened but you’re acting really weird today. Please tell me what’s going on. I want to know why you were so happy earlier. I want to know why you kept apologizing to me.”

To his horror, he heard and felt her sniffing in his arms. Was she crying? Why?

“Oh my gawd, Krys, what’s going on? Why are you crying? Please, don’t cry.”

“I-I’m so-rry…”

“Oh my gawd. What in the world are you sorry about?”

“I-I did something…horrible…”

“It’s alright,” Young cooed.

“No, it’s not. I shouldn’t have doubted you. I should have trusted you. I’m sorry.”

And with that, Young held Krystal in his arms as she told him about everything that had happened since the day before.

~~~~~

“I…I was afraid that you would turn out to be like how my dad was. So many bad things went through my mind. I’m a horrible girlfriend. You’re treating me so well and being so forgiving but all I can do is to think about you betraying me.”

“Krys…”

“I know. I know. I’m really horrible. Right? You have every right to be angry with me. Every right. You must be so disappointed right? I’m so sorry. I even went to Cloud Nine to ask about you. Oh my gawd.”

Young placed his finger on her lips. “Shh. You talk too much.” She finally fell silent. Then, he retracted his finger slowly. “Firstly. I don’t blame you for thinking the worst of me. I mean, it wasn’t even that long ago that I stopped playing around. Some girls out there probably still think I’m out in the market for fun.”

He paused momentarily, before continuing. “And secondly, it’s not your fault. You were slapped by a random girl on the street. I don’t know what I’d have done if I were punched by a random guy on the street, to be honest, but I think you were pretty calm about it. I don’t even know how you could watch the movie with me afterwards. I couldn’t even tell that something that immense had happened to you.”

“You’re not angry with me?” Krystal looked rather uncertain. “I didn’t want to tell you because I don’t want you to be bothered by it. But honestly, part of me was afraid too. I was afraid that you’d be disappointed because I didn’t have faith in you.”

Young smiled gently. “And that’s why we shouldn’t.”

“Huh?” Krystal looked confused.

“If I haven’t earned complete trust from you and if you don’t have complete faith in me, I’m not going to have with you.”

Krystal blushed at the words he said. opened and closed but nothing was said. Words were failing her, apparently.

“Shocked? Or just very impressed by how awesome I am?” Young spoke in jest, attempting to lighten Krystal’s mood.

It worked. She laughed. And sniffed. “I’m very impressed,” she said with a smile. “I don’t think I deserve a boyfriend who is as awesome as you.”

“There you go again. Shut up already. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve a girlfriend as awesome as you.”

Young glared at Krystal, daring her to say anything derogatory about herself again and she stared back at him. For a moment, that’s all they did. Then, the ice broke at last and they laughed till they teared.

“We’re praising each other so much. Who knows, in reality, we might both .”

Young shook his head and waggled his finger. “No, no. We don’t . No way. We’re too good-looking and too compatible to .”

Krystal laughed heartily at what he said and it made him grin. There was nothing better than seeing her laugh happily. Without a care in the world. This poor girl has had too much to deal with in life. He wanted nothing more than to see her happy as often as possible. So, he hugged her a little bit more. A little bit tighter.

~~~~~

“Yul, I’m scared.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m here with you every step of the way.”

“But what if it hurts?”

Yul squeezed her hand and said, “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt too much. We’ll go slow. I promise.”

“Yul, I’m still scared.”

“Baby, it’s going to be amazing. Just think about how amazing it will be.”

“But…I’ve never had…that inserted in there before…”

“Breathe, baby, breathe. Take a deep breath. Right, now…look at me.”

Jessica’s eyes met his and he smiled reassuringly. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Then be brave and let’s do it.”

Jessica pressed her quivering lips together. “Okay. It’d better be amazing or I’ll mince you and ask ajussi to fry you for dinner.”

Yul chuckled and her hair. “Baby, you’re going to love this. I promise.” He smiled at Jessica one more time before turning to the sonographer. “I’m sorry about this but we’re good to go.”

The sonographer smiled warmly at them. “Don’t apologize. Lots of women are nervous about this. But your husband is right. It won’t hurt too much. Just relax.”

“Okay…” Jessica whispered but Yul could feel her grip on his hand tightening. So, he patted her hand to reassure her.

“You’ll be fine and we’ll finally get to see our baby. Isn’t it exciting?”

Jessica smiled and nodded. “It is.”

Their sonographer had elected to examine Jessica by means of a l ultrasound to see her pregnancy more closely, since she was fairly early in her pregnancy. About twelve weeks.

“This is a transducer. I will insert this in your .”

“That doesn’t look like it’s going to do anything.”

Their sonographer smiled. “Mrs. Kwon, the transducer may not look complicated but it can send and receive ultrasound signals very well. And don’t worry. I’ll only insert a couple of inches of it.”

Jessica pouted. “Okay. Put it in.”

Yul smiled and kissed Jessica’s forehead tenderly. “I’m so proud of you.”

She scrounged her face up a little as the sonographer inserted the transducer that had been covered and lubricated.

“Baby, are you alright?”

Jessica smiled. “Yes.”

“Alright…let’s see. What have we here?”

Yul looked eagerly. And what he saw almost made him cry. There on the screen, was an odd shape. He could make out a head. And a body. What he saw was absolutely beautiful. The most beautiful sight in the world. Other than his wife. His vision blurred. He was tearing up! Oh goodness. That wouldn’t do. He blinked his tears away and stared at the screen, determined to etch it all in his memory.

He was aware that Jessica was looking too, so he said in an awed tone, “Our baby is so beautiful.”

Jessica didn’t answer him so he looked at her. She was staring at the screen unblinkingly with wonder in her eyes. And he thought that she had never looked more beautiful so he couldn’t resist planting a kiss on her cheek.

“I love you, Jessica Jung.”

She blinked. Her eyes were glistening too.

“That’s our baby,” she whispered, still looking entranced.

Yul smiled from ear to ear. “Yes. Ours. Yours and mine.”

And Jessica smiled her classic toothless smile. “I love you too, Kwon Yul.”

He was just about to kiss her again when he heard a loud cough.

“You’re just about the sweetest couple I’ve ever seen but I do need to interrupt you to tell you that your baby is doing absolutely fine from the looks of it. And so are you.” The sonographer smiled warmly at Jessica. “I’ll send these for interpretation and when the report is ready, we’ll contact you. Don’t worry, you’ll get pictures of this to keep.”

“Thank you very much,” said Yul.

“You’re very welcome.”

~~~~~

Night had fallen and Tiffany couldn’t stop wondering what had gotten into Taeng. His weird behaviour had continued all through dinner at a restaurant…

~

“Taeng, could you pass the salt?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t.”

“You can’t?!”

“I’m cutting my pork cutlet. It’s not that far. You can get it by yourself.”

“Taeng. You’d better come clean with me or I’m going to pour all the salt on your pork cutlet. Why are you acting like this!”

Taeng looked at her with his eyes wide open and unblinking. “A-Acting? I’m not acting. I’m really cutting my pork cutlet. See?” And he proceeded to cut the pork cutlet with his knife very vigorously.

Tiffany rolled her eyes. Taeng couldn’t get any more ridiculous than this. “There’s definitely something you’re not telling me and I swear I’m going to get to the bottom of this by tonight or my favourite colour isn’t pink!”

“I’m not hiding anything! I’m just not as nice as you think I am, Fany-ah.”

Tiffany laughed. That was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. “You’re not as nice? What?” She guffawed.

“Fany! You’re too loud! You’ll disturb the other diners,” said Taeng in a hushed, anxious voice.

“See, Taeng. You’re so nice that you think for everyone around you. Even people you don’t know.”

“I’m not that nice.” Taeng pouted sadly and Tiffany was more confused than ever. Why was Taeng sad? What was wrong with him?

She decided to leave him alone for a while. She needed some time to think about this. Taeng was abnormal. And it couldn’t have been the sun. No. A little sun tanning wouldn’t do this sort of damage. But she couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out what the cause of his change was. But she would figure it out sooner or later, she was sure of that.

~

An idea struck her and she grinned. If ordinary questioning couldn’t get the truth out of him, she was just going to have to force it out of him.

~~~~~

Tiffany spied Taeng out of the corner of her eye but she pretended not to notice him. She knew exactly what he was looking for and she wasn’t about to give it to him. The object of his search was kept safely in her lingerie drawer and she was sure that he would not be able to find it. Not even her father would open that drawer. Hee hee hee.

~~~~~

It wasn’t easy to hold it in. There were a few instances when Tiffany felt like giving in to end his misery but she remembered her mission and stopped herself. No. To get to the truth, a few sacrifices must be made.

However, her plan went a little awry when her father appeared and asked Taeng what he was looking for.

“I’m looking for my peas.”

“Your peas?”

“I have three peas. They stay in their pod. It’s bright green and has a zip on it.”

“I’m not sure I understand. Why would a peapod have a zip on it? We’re not talking about the plant, are we?”

Taeng shook his head. “No, Mr. Hwang. They are my peas. They are my best friends after Fany and Yul.”

Her father then turned to her and asked, “Do you know anything about this?”

She nodded nervously. She hadn’t planned on letting her father in on this. Admittedly, it wouldn’t really help Taeng win any points at all. Her father might even think that he wasn’t grownup enough for her because of this! Oh no!

Mentally chiding herself for coming up with the idea to hide his peas, she said, “I know about his peas. I know them well. And actually, I know where they are right now.”

“You know where they are! Where are they!” exclaimed Taeng.

Tiffany sighed. This was not going the way she had planned. “This way. Follow me.” And it wasn’t until they were all in front of her wardrobe that she suddenly realized how inappropriate this was going to look. She didn’t want to open her lingerie drawer in front of her father and Taeng!

So, she cleared and said, “Daddy, Taeng, actually I think it’d be better for the two of you to wait outside. I’ll bring the peas out.”

“Miyoung, what’s with the fuss. We’re already here. Just take it out.”

And Taeng nodded vigorously, obviously agreeing with what her father said, completely.

She could only sigh. “Alright.” And she opened the door of her wardrobe, followed by her drawer.

Both her father and Taeng squeaked. Unexpectedly, she found it ersely funny and giggled when her father and Taeng yelled in unison, “I’ll wait outside!”

The two men scrambled to get out of her room and there was nothing but silence when she returned to the living room with Taeng’s peas.

“My peas!” Taeng dashed towards her, all awkwardness forgotten, apparently.

Tiffany returned the peas to him and sneaked a peek at her father. He looked thoroughly uncomfortable and it made her giggle again.

“Mr. Hwang, these are my peas!” Taeng announced proudly to her father and she nearly palmed her own face. She braced herself for her father’s outburst of incredulity but none came.

Instead, she heard her father saying, “They’re so cute! Do you have names for them?”

Her jaw dropped. Straight to the ground. Nothing was right anymore. Taeng wasn’t being nice to her and her father looked and sounded as though he liked Taeng’s peas! Was she in a weird dream or something? She pinched herself. Oww. Right. She wasn’t dreaming. But if she wasn’t dreaming…

“This one is Happy. He looks really calm and has the best ideas most of the time.”

“Hi, Happy.”

“Happier is really good at making me feel better,” said Taeng as he pointed at the next pea.

“Hi, Happier.”

“And this is—”

“Wait! Let me guess. Happiest?”

“Yes! Happiest is the best at comforting me when I’m feeling sad. Mr. Hwang! You’re so smart!”

Her father chuckled. “Of course I am. You know, I used to have a best friend like that too. You’re a man after my own heart. Miyoung, I approve of your boyfriend!”

And she should have been elated to hear the news but she was astounded by what he said earlier. “Daddy…you…you had peas too?”

“No, I didn’t. But I had Pooky!”

“Pooky?”

“Garfield’s teddy bear!”

Tiffany palmed her face and groaned. She couldn’t believe that her father had an inanimate object for a best friend as well. She had to be dreaming. This was a weird dream and she was going to wake up soon. Soon. Soon…

“Mr. Hwang, do you still have Pooky?”

“Yes. I keep him safe in an air tight bag. He’s very precious to me. I went on many adventures with him.”

“I understand. My peas are very precious to me too.”

“Miyoung, why was Taeng’s peapod in your…drawer…?” her father asked, all of a sudden.

Now this, she wasn’t prepared to answer at all. It was definitely shaping up to be one of the weirdest and most awkward days of her life.

“Well, I wanted to make Taeng tell me something.”

“What did you want me to tell you?” Taeng asked, innocently at first, before looking upset suddenly. “You wanted to know why I wasn’t being nice to you,” he said quietly in a tone that unsettled her.

“Yes. I was going to ask you to tell me the truth before returning them to you.”

Then he shocked her by bursting out, “Fany-ah, you know that I would give my peas to you if you asked, but how could you hide them and scare me like that!” And with that, he turned around and marched straight into his room and shut the door.

Tiffany blinked in shock. Did Taeng just scold her for hiding his peas? He certainly looked upset. And that didn’t look like an act at all.

“Miyoung, what is going on between the two of you?”

Tiffany sighed. She looked at the door that Taeng had just shut very quietly and wished that she could go straight to Taeng and find a way to appease him but her father was obviously expecting an explanation. So, she told him everything.

~~~~~

“Miyoung-ah, it was wrong of you to do that. You know that, right?”

Tiffany nodded. As she related the story to her father, she’d come to realize that she had perhaps, gone a little bit too far in doing that to Taeng. A better way to do it would have been to seduce him instead. But that was on hindsight. It was always easier to think of better ways to do something after the event was over.

“You need to apologize.”

“I will, Daddy.”

“That’s my dear girl. And try to find out why he acted weird too. I want to know why. If he isn’t telling you, I’m going to ask him.”

“Okay.”

Tiffany walked to Taeng’s bedroom door and knocked. There was no response. So she knocked again and said, “Taengoo, please open the door.”

“It’s not locked.”

She tried the knob. It turned easily and the door opened. And the first thing she saw was Taeng’s back. That was not a good sign. Taeng rarely ever turned his back on her. He must be really upset about it. She stepped into the room and shut the door quietly.

And as though an afterthought, she locked the door too. It was time to pull out the big guns. She had a man to appease.

~~~~~