Round Thirty-Nine

 

Please tell me that you didn't break up with me to be with her. You pushed her away, that means you don't like her, right?

 

Tiffany wanted very much to believe that Taeng was as surprised as she was. His stunned and horrified look certainly looked convincing enough. However, as much as her rational mind tried to reason with her, it was difficult to cast the hurt and pain aside. The fact was Jieun had kissed Taeng!  

 

Jieun. Kissed. Taeng.

 

Her initial shock gave way to disbelief then to hurt and pain. And somewhere in the depths of her swirling emotions, a spark of anger ignited. She marched right up to Jieun, grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

 

SLAP.

 

Jieun gasped in shock and covered her reddened cheek with her hand. Her eyes widened upon recognizing Tiffany. The look on her face said it all—she was livid. Jieun stepped backwards, away from Tiffany who, at the moment, looked very intimidating.

 

Taeng stepped towards Tiffany, his mouth opening and closing mutely. She knew that he was probably an innocent party in this but she didn't want to face him at this moment, for some reason. She wanted to be alone.

 

"Don't." Her outstretched palm stopped him in his tracks. His stricken expression brought tears to her eyes as she turned around and ran away from them, trying to put that sickening image behind her. She saw tears streaming down Taeng's face from her peripheral but she didn't stop running.  She didn't stop running until she was sure nobody was behind her.

 

Little did she know that she wasn't actually alone.

 

"Hello again, pretty girl."

 

She looked up, searching for the owner of the intrusive voice. It was the man who had helped her earlier.

 

"Hi. Do you remember me?"  

 

She sniffed and nodded. "Of course I do. We just met."

 

"Well, I shouldn't assume too much." His eyes twinkled good-naturedly as he grinned at her.

 

"Were you following me?"

 

He looked amused by her question. "Give me one good reason why I would do that."

 

She shrugged. "I don't know, but I shouldn't assume too much."

 

They exchanged looks for a moment before bursting into boisterous laughter. Jiwoong bent over, clasping his stomach, shaking with laughter whilst Tiffany threw her head back and clapped her hands repeatedly.

 

It was a while before they regained their state of calm but they eventually calmed down and stopped laughing.

 

"So who made this pretty girl cry here all by herself?"

 

"It's a long story."

 

"Tell me, I have a lot of time to kill."

 

There was something about this guy that eased her. So she found herself telling him all about Jieun and the entire reason behind her trip to Jeonju.

 

"Hmm, the Taeng I know would never cheat on his girlfriend. He's a good person. I'm sure you know that too, right?"

 

"I know that."

 

"So why aren't you over at his home claiming him as your boyfriend? You shouldn't be here, sobbing away so pitifully."

 

"I just wanted to be alone for a little while."

 

"That little while is over. Get your over there before Taeng gets eaten up by that scary girl."

 

Tiffany laughed out loud, feeling much better than before.

 

"Jiwoong oppa, thanks."

 

"It's my pleasure."

 

~~~~~

 

Taeng sat on his couch with his head in his hands. Jieun was beside him, smiling delightfully at his mother.

 

"I'm Jieun. Lee Jieun."

 

Mrs. Kim smiled at her kindly. "Are you Taeng's girlfriend?"

 

Taeng's head shot up in an instant.

 

"NO!!!"

 

Jieun looked at him unhappily. "But you agreed to date me!"

 

"Taeng, a man has to honor his promises." Mrs. Kim looked at him sternly.

 

"Mother, I—“

 

"Taeng..."

 

"Yes, mother." Taeng looked as downcast as cloudiest day but he obeyed his mother, nonetheless.

 

"Taengoo, how could you agree to date her when you already have a girlfriend?" A man's voice interrupted their conversation.

 

"Hyung!" Taeng looked delighted to see his brother again after a long time. He missed his brother very much.

 

"Taengoo." Jiwoong grinned widely and gave his brother a manly bear hug.

 

Tiffany stood behind them, feeling a little confused.

 

Didn't he say that he was Taeng's friend? He seems more like his brother than a friend actually...

 

Tiffany then realized why she found Jiwoong familiar. He looked so much like Taeng! They were brothers! She gaped. Why, that fraud... He fooled me into thinking that he was just a friend of Taeng's! Oh gawd...and I told them all about us!

 

Tiffany wanted to bury her head into a hole. It was either that, or she could knock Jiwoong's head off his shoulders. Grr... She was going to get him for it later.

 

"Jiwoong, did you say that Taengoo already has a girlfriend?" Mrs. Kim was thoroughly confused by the entire situation.

 

"Yes, mother, this is his girlfriend." Jiwoong stepped aside to reveal Tiffany, who had been standing behind him all this while.

 

"Fany! You're here!" Taeng exclaimed, rubbing his palms up and down his pants nervously as she stepped forward to greet his mother respectfully.

 

"Good evening, Mrs. Kim, I am Tiffany Hwang. To be honest, I'm not really Taeng's girlfriend right now because he broke up with me but I'm here to get him back."

 

Mrs. Kim looked truly stunned. "My son broke up with you?!" She looked at her son in disbelief. Taeng was the kind of boy who wouldn't even hurt a mosquito, let alone break a girl's heart like that.

 

Taeng hung his head low. He couldn't deny it for it was true. He couldn't even show his affection for Tiffany, lest Jieun should call her father and get him to do something terrible to Tiffany.

 

Yul! Please help me, quick! Help me to get out of this hellhole! Please!

 

He prayed desperately in his heart as his mother looked at him in shock.

 

~~~~~

 

They all sat around the dining table awkwardly. Well, all but Jieun, that is. She wasn't too impressed with the dinner to say the least. 

 

"I cooked this dish!" Taeng scooped spoonful after spoonful of the fried vegetables and dished it out to his family members and Tiffany (who received an extra-large spoonful). His manners didn't allow him to leave Jieun out so she got a share of it too. "Try it!" 

 

"Pooey! Yucks! The vegetables are too salty!" Jieun spat the vegetables out as soon as she had tried eating them.

 

Everybody else around the table stared at her in distaste.

 

"My oppa's fried dishes are a favorite in our home, Jieun unnie." Taeng's little sister, Hayeon spoke up with displeasure. 

 

Mrs. Kim shot Hayeon a look to silence her before smiling kindly at Jieun. "I'm sorry if the food isn't to your taste, Jieun ssi. Would you like to try something else?"

 

Jieun shook her head haughtily. "Never mind. I'll just get my butler to send me some food from my own kitchen."

 

Mrs. Kim looked a little taken aback but she managed to smile and nod politely. "Alright then. Let us know if you need anything. Are you going back soon though?"

 

Jieun shook her head. "I intend to stay here for a while to spend time with Taeng."

 

"I see… would you like to stay here with us then? We have a guest room."

 

"I've booked a suite at a hotel."

 

"Ah, I see. Mmm, what about you Tiffany ssi?"

 

"Mrs. Kim, please, call me Fany."

 

Mrs. Kim smiled warmly and nodded.

 

"Actually, I came here without preparing anything because it was a spur of the moment decision to come here so I would be very grateful if I could stay a night in your guest room. I will get a hotel room tomorrow."

 

"Fany ah, don't be a stranger in our home. Any friend of Taengoo's is welcome to stay in our guest room for as long as they like. So, please, stay with us. You don't have to stay at a hotel room."

 

"In that case, I'll help out around the house to thank you."

 

"You don't have to do anything, Fany ah. You are our guest!"

 

Jieun watched as Mrs. Kim and Tiffany conversed and began to feel a little jealous.

 

"I want to stay here too!"

 

"Didn't you say that you have a suite at a hotel?"

 

"Hayeon," Mrs. Kim looked at her youngest daughter sternly. "We must be nice."

 

"But Mummy, we don't have to be nice to everyone, do we?"

 

"Hayeon!"

 

"Okay, okay." Hayeon pouted. 

 

Jieun glared at Hayeon before turning to Tiffany. "I want to stay here. You can go stay in my hotel suite."

 

Tiffany scoffed at her offer. "I'd rather sleep on the streets than in your suite."

 

Jieun bristled at Tiffany's retort but before she could say anything, Mrs. Kim spoke up.

 

"Jieun ssi, you can have the guest room if you want it that much."

 

Jieun then flashed a satisfied smirk, triggering Hayeon's scowl. Jiwoong looked all ready to protest but Mrs. Kim continued just as he was about to voice his disapproval.

 

"Fany ah, you can share a room with Hayeon if you don't mind."

 

Hayeon looked delighted whilst Tiffany smiled and nodded. "I hope I'm not imposing on Hayeon though."

 

"No, you're not imposing on me at all. You're totally welcome in my room."

 

Jiwoong sniggered and winked at Tiffany. "She likes you." He mouthed. Tiffany grinned.

 

And amidst all the action at the dinner table, Taeng had his head down the entire time. His hands were totally tied by Mr. Lee's threats and he did not want to see Tiffany's hurt expression. He could only hope for Mr. Jung to agree to help him and Tiffany.

 

~~~~~

 

Jiwoong dragged Taeng out to the back of their house after dinner. “Do you still love Tiffany or not?”

 

“Of course I do!”

 

“You do? But you’re not acting like it at all. She’s told me everything. I know that you lied to her about staying here for good. You’re only here for a short visit, aren’t you?”

 

“I—I have no choice but to lie to her.”

 

“Why do you have to lie to her? Do you really want to break up with her?”

 

Taeng hung his head low. “No.” Tears welled up in his eyes and began falling to the ground below. “I want to hold her hand but I can’t. I want to tell her that I hate Jieun but I can’t.”

 

“So you don’t like that brat? Why didn’t you stand up against her? Don’t keep it all to yourself like you did in the past. I still can’t believe you let the bullies bully you for so long without telling us about it. If it wasn’t for Yul…” Jiwoong sighed, “We would never have known about your sufferings in school.”

 

“Hyung, I…I have my reasons but I can’t tell you yet. Don’t worry, Yul is helping me. Once this is over, I will tell you the whole story.”

 

Jiwoong patted Taeng on his back to show his support for his younger brother. “You know that I will be here for you, always.”

 

“I know that.”

 

“Good. I’m going back in now. And Taeng…”

 

“Yes, hyung?”

 

“You’re one lucky guy. Tiffany likes you a lot. I would definitely go for her if it weren’t for you.”

 

“You can’t! She’s mine!” Taeng panicked.

 

Jiwoong laughed. “I know, I know. Don’t worry, I will help you too.”

 

Taeng relaxed. “Thanks, hyung.”

 

“Goodnight, Taeng.”

 

“Goodnight, hyung.”

 

~~~~~

 

DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.

 

Hyoyeon groan from the depths of her sleepy soul. She sat up on her bed and yawned widely. Then she stretched herself after getting up from her bed.

 

DING DONG. DING DONG. DING DONG.

 

“Argh,” Hyoyeon grumbled before yelling out loud, “ALRIGHT! I’M COMING! WAIT!”

 

She stumbled to the door and opened it. Hyun was all decked out in a smart shirt and jeans, looking smart and suave. Hyoyeon’s eyes lit up like Christmas lights upon seeing him.

 

“Good morning, Hyoyeon,” Hyun greeted her politely.

 

Hyoyeon thought he looked a little tense and giggled to herself. “Good morning, Hyun. Come in and sit. I need some time to get ready.”

 

“Please hurry, I want to get my picture taken with Mr. and Mrs. Goguma!”

 

“WHAT? There’s a Mr. and Mrs. Goguma?!” Hyoyeon’s eyes were wide open.

 

“Yes,” said Hyun impatiently, “and a few other characters too. They are the judges for the goguma recipe competition.”

 

“Oh… for a moment I thought you’d be taking pictures with a giant goguma or something.”

 

“Oh, those will be there too!” Hyun smiled widely.

 

“WHAT?!” Hyoyeon palmed her face and shook her head.

 

~~~~~
 

“OVER THERE!” Hyun grabbed Hyoyeon’s hand and dashed towards a humongous goguma in a blue cap and shorts that was waving its hand at people passing by.

 

“Can I take a picture with you?” Hyun asked excitedly.

 

The goguma figure did some kind of weird nod which involved its entire body wobbling dangerously and Hyun wrapped both of his arms around it happily.

 

“One, two, three, say kimchi!” Hyoyeon snapped a picture of Hyun with a deliriously happy smile on his face. She had the strongest urge to laugh and did so after the picture was taken.

 

“What are you laughing about?” Hyun pouted as he took his camera back from Hyoyeon.

 

“You.” Hyoyeon pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing but it was futile.

 

Just then, the humongous goguma walked up to them and hugged Hyoyeon from behind. Hyoyeon jumped in surprise but laughed once she realized what had hugged her.

 

“Hyun! Take my picture!” Hyoyeon laughed.

 

Hyun on the other hand, didn’t look happy at all. He pushed the humongous goguma away and pulled Hyoyeon towards him.

 

“Hey! I wanted a picture with the goguma!” Hyoyeon protested as he pulled her along but Hyun didn’t respond. He finally stopped in front of another humongous goguma that was wearing a skirt and a pretty pink ribbon on its head.

 

“Take your picture with this goguma instead.”

 

“But the other goguma is cuter!” Hyoyeon protested yet again.

 

“No, I don’t like that goguma. You’re not taking a picture with him.”

 

“You don’t like that goguma?! Are you kidding? You were the one who was all excited about getting your picture with him in the first place.”

 

“Well, I don’t like him now. We will take a picture with this goguma and that’s that.” Hyun’s tone was firm and his word was final but Hyoyeon’s eyes sparkled with a little something. She had caught on to an interesting emotion that Hyun seemed to be feeling at the moment.

 

“Okay, let’s take a picture with this female goguma then.” Hyoyeon sniggered and pulled Hyun with her. She approached a girl who was standing next to the female goguma and asked her to take a picture of them. Then she grabbed hold of Hyun’s waist and held him really close before sneaking a peek at his face. His face was a little pinkish but he did not try to move away from her. Instead, he put his arm around her shoulder and smiled happily for the camera.

 

Hyoyeon’s heart did a little flip and her smile was a little brighter than usual. The picture was taken and she was a little sorry to let go of Hyun’s waist as she thanked the girl for helping. Interestingly, Hyun did not remove his hand from her shoulder and she made no mention of wanting him to remove it. And so that’s how it was for a while, with Hyun leading Hyoyeon from booth to booth, sampling the different goguma recipes and types of gogumas that were on exhibition by the various goguma household names.

 

Hyoyeon noticed how his hand had remained on her shoulder for the entire time, even while sampling gogumas. From roasted goguma salads, gingered goguma soups to spiced goguma chips and even baked goguma pancakes, Hyun and Hyoyeon tried them all. Hyun would take a sample with his one free hand and pass it to Hyoyeon before taking one for himself.

 

“Which is your favourite?” Hyoyeon asked after they sampled goguma from yet another booth.

 

“I like the ginger goguma cheesecake.”

 

“That’s so difficult to make,” Hyoyeon muttered under her breath.

 

“What did you say?”

 

“Huh? Oh…no-nothing. I was just saying that I like the goguma wedges and hash browns.” Hyoyeon smiled widely at Hyun who nodded and smiled unsuspectingly.

 

“Oh, I like those too.” Hyun was none the wiser.

 

Phew.

 

Hyoyeon felt relieved that Hyun hadn’t heard her as she continued walking down the row of goguma booths.

 

They stopped to watch the goguma cooking competition that was judged by Mr. and Mrs. Goguma who turned out to be the organizers of the Goguma Expo. Hyoyeon learnt that they also promoted gogumas through an online TV channel cooking show that was immensely popular amongst goguma lovers like Hyun who had packed the place to the max.

 

After the competition, Hyun finally got his chance to take a picture with Mr. and Mrs. Goguma. He pulled Hyoyeon with him and they took a lovely picture together.

 

Just then, they heard an announcement inviting people to join a goguma quiz competition.

 

A booming voice on microphone said, “IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT GOGUMAS, STEP RIGHT UP AND GET A SHOT AT WINNING AWESOME PRIZES FOR YOURSELF!”

 

Hyoyeon pushed Hyun up to the stage at once. He was nervous and wanted to leave but she wouldn’t let him.

 

“Go for it! I’m sure you know more about gogumas than anybody else here.”

 

“But I—“

 

“No buts. You’re joining the competition and that’s that.”

 

And with that, Hyun was pushed up the stage.

 

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO OUR ANNUAL GOGUMA EXPO QUIZ!!! OUR TOP PRIZE IS A YEAR’S SUPPLY OF GOGUMAS FROM THE BEST IN THE REGION!!! TAKE YOUR POSITIONS AND BE READY TO HIT THE BUZZER IF YOU KNOW THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS!!!”

 

Hyun looked tense but Hyoyeon made him smile by cheering for him really loudly.

 

“HYUN JJANG! HYUN JJANG!”

 

“First question, what is the scientific name of goguma?”

 

BUZZ.

 

It was Hyun.

 

“Ipomoea batatas.”

 

“YOU’RE RIGHT!!!” The emcee looked very amazed.

 

“Next question, in Malaysia and Singapore, goguma is cut into small cubes and cooked with yam and coconut milk. What is the name of that dessert?”

 

Hyoyeon’s eyes were wide as saucers. She had no idea.

 

BUZZ.

 

It was Hyun again.

 

“Bubur chacha.”

 

“YOU’RE RIGHT AGAIN!!!” The emcee looked quite stunned at this point in time.

 

“Third question, name the Japanese spirit that is made from goguma.”

 

Hyoyeon grinned widely. She knew that answer.

 

BUZZ.

 

It was Hyun yet again!

 

“Imo-jochu.”

 

“AMAZING! CORRECT!” The emcee was wiping sweat from his forehead and the other contestants were looking rather listless by then.

 

“Fourth and final question. If this amazing gentleman gets it right, he will be the winner of a year’s supply of goguma! Where is the origin of gogumas thought to be?”

 

BUZZ.

 

Hyun didn’t break a sweat when he answered, “South America.”

 

“CORRECT!!!” screamed the emcee in sheer astonishment. “YOU WIN!”

 

Hyoyeon raised her arms in victory and dashed up the stage to Hyun’s side. She threw her arms around him jubilantly and much to his utter surprise, she planted her lips on his cheek and gave him a resounding kiss.

 

MUACK.

 

“YOU WON! HYUN JJANG!” Hyoyeon was beside herself with joy and happiness so it was a while before she realized what she had just done.

 

Hyun was standing stiffly in her arms as his eyes locked onto hers. He noticed the blush that was spreading rapidly across her cheeks to the tip of her nose. He found it incredibly cute and leaned towards it subconsciously. She looked into his eyes and blinked rapidly as he descended upon her and kissed the tip of her nose.

 

OH MY GAWD OH MY GAWD OH MY GAWD.

 

She found herself closing her eyes and tightened her grip around his shoulders and neck as his lips left her nose and slipped lower to her lips.

 

A brief peck later, Hyun pulled away from her in a flash, blushing furiously as the crowd cheered the both of them on.

 

“IT LOOKS LIKE THIS IS HIS LUCKY DAY FOLKS!!! HE JUST WON A YEAR’S SUPPLY OF GOGUMA AND A BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIEND FOR HIMSELF!!! WOOHOO!!!” cheered the emcee excitedly.

 

At the sound of the word ‘girlfriend’, however, both Hyoyeon and Hyun leapt apart from each other and stood awkwardly on stage.

 

“AWW…LOOK AT THEM…THEY’RE SO SHY…” cooed the emcee. “GO ON! HOLD HER HAND!!! HOLD HER HAND! HOLD HER HAND!” chanted the emcee, encouraging the crowd to do the same.

 

“HOLD HER HAND! HOLD HER HAND!” chanted the crowd that caught on real quick to the emcee’s intentions.

 

So as the entire audience cheered them on, Hyun shyly stepped towards Hyoyeon who was boring holes in the floor of the stage with her eyes and took her hand in his. Hyoyeon blushed furiously but she did not pull her hand away from his, instead, she held his hand back just as firmly as he did. Her heart skipped several beats as she ascended to cloud nine, wrapped snugly in a cocoon of euphoria.

 

“OH YEAH!!! HE’S HOLDING HER HAND EVERYBODY!!! HE’S HOLDING HER HAND!!! WOOHOO!!!” The emcee was quite beside himself with excitement.

 

This was his shortest and most exciting quiz ever.

 

~~~~~
 

“Lee Jin Suk. It’s good to see you again.”

 

“Hmph, don’t be so sarcastic, Jung. Say what you have to say and leave.”

 

“Stop meddling with Taeng and Tiffany, or else.”

 

“Or else?” Mr. Lee threw his head back and guffawed.

 

Mr. Jung clenched his teeth and drew up to his full height. “I will make sure that your artistes never get onto another show or article ever again.”

 

Jessica stared at her father in shock while Yul gasped audibly at the audacity of his threat. They gripped each other’s hand instinctively for support. They hadn’t expected Mr. Jung to go that far.

 

Mr. Lee stopped laughing at once. Things just got serious.

 

~~~~~
 

Joongki smiled to himself as he swirled in his swivel chair, overlooking the scenic view of the city skyline. His business meeting with Sunny had stretched beyond the tour of the resort to a very pleasant and enjoyable dinner with her. Yoong certainly had very good taste in women. He hadn’t expected himself to like Sunny this much after just one meeting. That wasn’t the plan. But the fact was that he did like her after meeting her.

 

Just as well. It all works out to be the same and I may even get a bonus in the end.

 

~~~~~