Chapter 4 – Losing Control

Yonghwa’s phone rang for what could possibly have been the twentieth time that day and it was driving him insane. Almost a week had gone by since the dinner at Seohyun’s house, which left going back to school only that much closer. Hyuna had somehow gotten his phone number and she took every chance she could to reproach him for causing her accident. He knew he would never win in an argument with a woman when she put her foot down so he went with the flow even though he was the one that was wronged that night.

“Damn you are so going to score,” Joon commented with a chuckle. Yonghwa pushed a button to ignore the call for what seemed like the twentieth time that day and turned to face Joon with a sour face. It was already Sunday and Yonghwa had to get up bright and early to talk to the dean in charge of the medical school. He was really not in the mood to deal with this on his last day off.

“What are you even talking about Joon?” Joon ignored the question and focused on the stack of paperwork he had to sign. Yonghwa looked around the office that Joon had set up in his apartment with boredom. He supposed that since Joon was the only heir to his family’s exporting company he was already starting to take over.

“I’m talking about that girl that keeps calling you over and over,” he teased. “Dude, she’s so into you. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you got way hotter since I last saw you.” Yonghwa didn’t even bother to thank Joon for the awkward compliment and threw himself on the sofa with a thud. “A girl like Hyuna going after you is something to be proud of man.”

“A girl like Hyuna?”

“Yeah, she’s such a good catch. She’s y as hell and mmmmm she is a fierce one,” Joon explained in a erted way. Without even knowing what happened, Joon found himself being pulled out of his seat by the collar by the other male in the room. “Yah! What are you doing?”

“Joon…” he growled through gritted teeth. “You’re Seohyun’s boyfriend, you can’t say that about other women.” Joon looked at Yonghwa with a look of pure confusion as he saw the murderous intent in his eyes.

“Whoa dude chill out…” Joon choked out. “I was only making an observation. You’re not Seohyun’s brother or anything so please put me down. It wasn’t like that.” Yonghwa immediately realized the situation he was putting himself in and he let go of his friend’s shirt.

“So-sorry,” Yonghwa awkwardly apologized. “I’m just a little pissed is all.” Joon gave him a slap on the shoulder and flashed him one of his goofy smiles. Luckily for Yonghwa, Joon was still completely oblivious to his true feelings. He mentally cursed himself for letting his emotions get the best of him. Ever since he had come back it was getting harder and harder to hide what he really felt for Seohyun. He couldn’t stand the way that Joon was complimenting another woman in that dirty way. If Seohyun were his, all the other women on the planet would be as good as dead to him. That’s just how special she was to him.

“Your phone is ringing again,” Joon pointed out while motioning towards the couch. Not only was he still a little irritated that Hyuna wouldn’t leave him alone, now he was also pissed that Joon was a complete ert. “Just answer it and tell her off if you really want to. It’s the only way she will learn.”

“Arasso,” he agreed as he stormed over to the annoying contraption that had made his week hell. Without even checking to see who the caller was he angrily hit the answer button. “Yah! Are you seriously going to call me every five minutes!? I’m this close to blocking you from my calls you annoying , so leave me the hell alone!”

“Eh? Uh if that’s how you really feel then I’ll hang up now…” a delicate voice shyly responded.

“Aish… sorry Seohyun. I really didn’t mean for that to happen. I’m just being an idiot, don’t pay attention to me.” Yonghwa’s irritated expression softened up and he began to sport a small smile. “What’s up?”

“Wow that was a complete 180 in attitude. Does hearing my voice really make you that happy?” she joked. Yonghwa coughed a little from her bold comment but managed to regain his composure. “Anyway, you have a meeting at the university tomorrow right?”

“Yeah why?”

“Let’s meet up in the morning right outside the front gates,” she suggested. “Hyuna and I have to start classes early for our accelerated program so we have to be at school tomorrow too.” His happy expression dropped the moment Hyuna was mentioned.

“Alright I’ll meet you then,” he agreed with slight reluctance. As much as he wanted to see her at school, his desire to avoid Hyuna was almost greater than that.

“Okay then bye~”

“You’re meeting with my girl behind my back? Come on now Yonghwa, how can you be like that?” Joon joked. “By the look on your face it doesn’t look like you’re too happy with something. I assume that means you’ll be seeing your new girlfriend bright and early tomorrow morning?”

“Joon, off alright?”

“Someone is on their period,” he continued to joke. “How about you just give Hyuna a shot. She’s really good friends with Seohyun so she has to be a good person. I don’t even know where your hatred for this girl comes from. You’ve only known her for a little over a week.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Yonghwa sighed. “Ah whatever, I don’t know. I’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Seoul National University, one of the top schools in the country, stood proudly in front of the brand new medical school student. As a child he had seen it once or twice and refused to believe it was a school. To him it seemed more like a city of its own rather than a place for learning. He took in the sight of all the buildings around, all the bustling students, and the way everything seemed to blend together perfectly. Now he would use this institution to be even one more step closer to his goals.

“Hmm, still a little early,” he mumbled to himself. It was only 7:30, leaving him with 30 minutes to kill before meeting up with Seohyun and Hyuna. “Might as well look around.” He hadn’t been on the campus since he had just applied back while in the United States, so it would probably do him well to get acquainted with the place. It reminded him a lot from when he spent his undergraduate years in Los Angeles, but he felt more at home here.

“Yah! Let me go you gorilla!” he heard a weak voice yell. He recognized the voice belonging to the person he had grown to hate in the short period of time he knew her. Yonghwa turned in the direction he thought the voice came from and sure enough his suspicions were correct. He was met with the image of Hyuna desperately trying to get away from a large man holding her arm tightly.

“I don’t think so. What did you think you were doing not calling me all this time!?” he bellowed. “You’re mine Kim Hyuna. You made a big mistake in ignoring me for all these weeks. Now how about you stop struggling and you give me a kiss for every missed call you have of mine.” He pulled the girl in and placed a forceful kiss on her ruby colored lips.

Hyuna struggled to get away from him but her small arms could not break free of his grip. Yonghwa began to storm towards the fighting couple and was relieved when he saw the man pull his head away in pain. “Bastard! How dare you kiss me like that?!”

“!” he yelled in response before planting a slap to her face. “You ing bit me… Oh, there’s no way you’re getting off the hook this time.” Hyuna’s glared up at him from the floor while she clutched her cheek in pain. “Don’t give me that look!” She squealed and shut her eyes tight in order to brace herself for the next blow coming at her.

“My, my… is that anyway to treat a lady?” Yonghwa interrupted. “Then again, an ape such as yourself wouldn’t know how to treat a lady anyways.”

“Who is this clown?” the man asked Hyuna.

“You don’t need to know that. Yah, Kim Hyuna! Get up from there. People can see your from the way your skirt rides up,” he teased in an effort to get her to stand up.

“I’m not going to ask you again. Who the are you?”

“Wow you really are stupid aren’t you? You just said you wouldn’t ask me again yet you just did,” Yonghwa taunted. “I didn’t know Seoul National University was accepting monkeys like you. If I had known that I would have applied somewhere else.”

“You’re dead,” Hyuna’s ‘friend’ growled before lunging at Yonghwa. Hyuna stood up as fast as she could, ignoring the growing pain in her ankle. Yonghwa laughed as he managed to block as many hits as he could from hitting him. He had never been much of a fighter, but he could hold his own against that guy.

“Let’s ditch this animal,” Yonghwa suggested as he ran past Hyuna and took her hand in his. Totally ignoring the fact that she had an injured ankle, he forced her into a sprint away from the enraged buffoon. “You sure have some good friends Hyuna.”

 “He’s no friend of mine,” she choked out through ragged breaths. She badly wanted to stop and rest, but that wasn’t an option. If her Neanderthal of an ex-boyfriend caught them they would surely die. She knew that Yonghwa couldn’t take the guy in a one on one fight or else he would have stayed. Still, it felt nice to be holding his hand even if it was for the wrong reasons. “Yah, Min Soo! Are you really going to follow us this far?”

“Jashik!” Min Soo grunted before managing to grab a hold of Yonghwa’s arm. “You slippery little bastard, you’re mine now.” Hyuna’s grip on her savior’s arm was forcefully broken, leading him to fly backwards towards the enraged man. Without any way to defend himself, Yonghwa took a sick right hook to the mouth.

“AIsh…” he groaned while spitting out the metallic taste in his mouth. “You really had to come into my life didn’t you?” Hyuna could only stand on the sidelines and watch as Yonghwa was lifted off the ground as if he were made of paper.

“Hyuna is this the clown that you left me for? What about all those nights we spent together?”

“W-w-we didn’t spend any nights together!” she cried in desperation. A large crowd began to form around the three troublemakers, forcing Hyuna’s embarrassment to grow as well. “Min Soo, put him down. We can talk about this later. Please, I beg you!”

“Don’t beg this loser,” Yonghwa spat out. “, coward, bastard… what gives you the right to humiliate a girl like this in front of so many people?”

“Eh? I’ll show you a coward,” Min Soo yelled. Without any effort he threw Yonghwa onto the ground and forced him to stand up. “I’ll give you a shot to defend yourself. Let’s do this man to man if you think I’m being a coward about this.” Yonghwa smirked and wiped the dust off his clothes in a cocky manner. The large crowd began to murmur and whisper about the newcomer. They all supposed that Hyuna had once again used her charms to brainwash yet another poor soul.

“I’ll teach you to mess with Yoo Min Soo you stupid basta-” Min Soo began to taunt before being cut off by a taste of his own medicine. The crowd gasped once they saw a fist connect with the large male’s jaw and bring him down.

“Joon, why do you always have to steal my thunder man?” Yonghwa joked. “I was just about the wipe the floor with this guy.”

“Yeah, obviously…” Joon added sarcastically while shaking the pain out of his right hand. “Aish, and to think I wanted to just drop off my girl quietly. It’s too early in the morning for this.” Joon walked over to his best friend and held out a hand for him to stand up. Although he didn’t want to receive help, Yonghwa knew that he wouldn’t stop until everything was under control. He reluctantly took his hand and stood up with a bit of a struggle.

“Yonghwa!”

“Oh hey Seohyun, what’s up?” he casually greeted with a stupid grin on his face. “Sorry I didn’t meet you at the gates.”

“You think that is the most important thing right now?” she asked with a tone of disbelief. “Look at you, you’re a mess. How are you going to go meet the dean like that?” Yonghwa continued to give her a stupid grin and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Even though Seohyun was mad at him for being irresponsible, she couldn’t help but smile in response to the way he was taking everything. The good old carefree Yonghwa she left all those years back at the airport was still alive and well.

“Yonghwa…” Hyuna called. “Are you alright?”

“Your ankle,” he interrupted.

“Eh?”

“Go to the nurse and get it fixed,” he ordered without thinking about it. “You’re hurt aren’t you? Your step is off by a little bit and it’s obvious it’s because we ran.” Hyuna didn’t know whether to be mad at him for stepping in on her behalf, or to thank him for being her hero even though he failed.

“Joon, take Hyuna to the nurse for me,” Seohyun commanded. “I’ll drive Yonghwa back to his apartment as fast as I can for him to change before his meeting.” Joon nodded silently and bent down onto the ground in front of Hyuna. Confused as to what to do, she looked over at Seohyun and received a nod in return. She hesitantly climbed onto Joon’s back and he sped off towards the nurse’s office. If she were completely honest with herself, she didn’t mind Joon taking her anywhere, but it was Yonghwa she was after.

“Hey Joon,” Hyuna spoke out after the first silent minutes of the walk to the infirmary. “Yonghwa and Seohyun, aren’t you worried about them?” Joon being the oblivious idiot that he was could only furrow his eyebrows in confusion as to what she meant. Hyuna knew Joon was one of the densest people on the planet, but yet she still decided to ask him such a vague question. Sure he was smart when it came to business, but in matters of love, she was surprised he even had a girlfriend.

“Worried for what? Seohyun didn’t get hurt. Besides I left that Min Soo knocked out so bad he won’t even remember what he had for breakfast,” Joon stupidly answered.

“Never mind,” Hyuna replied knowing that he hadn’t understood her question.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yonghwa hummed happily to himself as he shed his dirty, bloodstained shirt without a care in the world. He was going to be late to his meeting with the dean and show up with a bloody lip but that didn’t matter to him. All that mattered was that Seohyun was taking care of him just like old times.

“Your lip was pretty bad so I found the stuff to clean it up-” Seohyun began explaining as she walked into the room with something to treat him with. Had she not seen him in just his boxers, she would have completed her sentence. Yonghwa turned around to face her, not fully realizing that he was not dressed for the occasion. In fact he wasn’t really dressed at all.

“Your dad never taught you to knock?” he joked. She dropped the things in her hands as she swiftly put them over her eyes in embarrassment. “Aw come on, aren’t we fully grown adults here. You’ve seen way worse when we were kids. Don’t you remember that time my shorts came off in the pool when Joon was pretending to be a shark?”

“Yah, how is this the same thing. We were all just kids. It’s not right for me to see you like this,” she meekly responded. Yonghwa could only chuckle while he fiddled with his belt buckle. “Tell me when I can open my eyes.”

“I’m done,” he responded. Seohyun removed the hands shyly covering her eyes only to be met with a startling sight. Instead of being fully dressed, Yonghwa thought it was a good idea to stand directly in front of her with his shirt still ed. Even though she knew it was wrong, something inside her didn’t want to look away. She had to admit, the view was nice. Even if he wasn’t as muscular as Joon, he did show signs of major improvement compared to his high school years.

“Stop staring! Byuntae!”

“Wh-who was looking? I’m just seeing how much of a wimp you still are!” she lamely defended.

“Thanks for the ride. I know I’m making you skip your first class by keeping you here,” he added with disappointment. Although it was nice for her to be there with him joking around, he felt bad for the class she was missing.

“Nah, it’s no big deal. That’s what friends are for right?” Just as Yonghwa finished the last button on his shirt, she pulled him over to the bed and pushed him down forcefully.

“I don’t think I like it that rough. Be gentle, it’s my first time!” Yonghwa cried out.

“You’ve been hanging out too much with Jang Woo haven’t you?” she scolded in response. “Alright, hold still while I take care of this lip of yours. If you go into the meeting looking like that, the dean will think you’re some kind of gangster.”

Yonghwa’s senses completely shut off the second her slender fingers began to rub the cold but refreshing ointment on his sore lip. He wondered why there was always some kind of ointment lying around for people to rub on wounds, but he wouldn’t question it. After all, he wasn’t the only one that lived in that apartment. His lips naturally formed into a smile while watching the stunning girl in front of him diligently massaging the cream until it was soaked into his slightly chapped lips. Her face was just a centimeter or two from his. The heat of her breath, the smell of her strawberry shampoo, every pore on her skin, the wrinkle between her furrowed eyebrows, the way her nostrils flared every once in a while in concentration; he took in all of it and wished he could close the ever so small gap between them.

“Yeppeuda…” he whispered without thinking. No detail about her went unnoticed to his brown orbs. He ached to have her in his arms, to have her warmth against him, to have her call his name the same way she called Joon’s. If she didn’t finish fixing him up soon, he feared he would begin to waver and cave into his desires.

“Did you say something?” she asked when she heard him mumble.

“A-ani it was nothing,” he stuttered. She gave his lip one final inspection and took her hands away in satisfaction.

“Okay Mister Lip, you have to get all better okay. If you don’t uri Yonghwa won’t be able to eat without feeling pain,” she childishly pleaded to his busted lip. Just before she could stand up from her crouched position in front of him, he placed his arms on her shoulders.

“Aren’t you… going to finish it up?” he asked in a breathless whisper, almost in a pained way.

“What do you mean?” she asked with a raise of her eyebrows. “I’m done.”

“You forgot this,” he added. His face sluggishly descended towards hers, leaving her wondering what his intentions were. A hand placed itself gently under her chin and pulled her face slightly in his direction. Her breath grazed his lips, setting off sparks throughout his body. Even with their faces only a hair’s width apart, he couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with her. It’s not that he couldn’t look into her eyes, but rather that he couldn’t take his gaze off of her soft, silky lips ready to be taken.

“Yong,” she spoke out, sending even more shivers throughout his body.

“…Hyun…” His lips continued to linger right above hers. The prize was so close. Even the slightest movement could cause his lips to connect with hers. Yonghwa finally gained the confidence to look away from the lips he voraciously wished were his. A flash of surprise manifested itself on his face once he noticed that her eyes were devoid of any fear. It was as if they almost dared him to make a move.

“Pfft! Hahahahah!” she spat out in laughter. Yonghwa finally snapped out of the daze he was in and wiped off the wet spit all over his lips.

“Aish… did you really have to spit on me?” he asked in feigned disgust.

“Mianhae Yonghwa. Then again you asked for it,” she pointed out while still laughing her off. “You really at playing these kinds of jokes.”

“Yeah, I was only joking. Did you think I was going to actually kiss you for real?” he asked in order to steer the conversation away from his true feelings. Luckily for him nothing had happened and he had been broken out of his daydream before he did something he would regret for his entire life. Kissing her was something that he knew he would never regret even if the world ended because of it. However, betraying Joon was something that warranted death.

“What was that about?”

“Well remember how you would always kiss the places I got hurt in when you asked them to heal faster? I was trying to see if you would still kiss it if it was on my lips,” he lied.

“Ah, that’s what that was. Well, I think that’s one oo you’ll have to heal on your own.”

“Hehe, I’ll take your spit as the get well kiss,” Yonghwa laughed in response. Both of the laughing young adults stood up at the same time to head out back to the university. Seohyun seemed to be fine, leaving Yonghwa slightly more relieved at the way the situation played out. However, the thumping in his chest was loud enough for him to hear it in his ears and it didn’t want to go away any time soon.

“Pabo! ! Idiot! Piece of trash! What were you thinking Yonghwa?!” a voice in his head called out to him. “You almost ruined your friendship with her and Joon. Why did you think that kind of ‘joke’ was a good idea?”

“Love makes you do stupid things,” he responded to the voice in his head.

“Who does stupid things?” she asked in response to his faint voice.

“It’s nothing. Come on, we’ll be late for the meeting and your second class.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“So that Min Soo guy,” Yonghwa began to ask on their walk from the parking lot to the academic buildings. “Who exactly was he?”

“He’s Hyuna’s ex,” Seohyun explained. Yonghwa nodded in response, not knowing what else to say about the situation. Hyuna was still someone he wasn’t too fond of, but he noticed the way that her eyes became watery when he was getting beaten and was slightly grateful for it. If she cared enough to cry for him, she couldn’t be all that bad. “They went out for almost a year until he cheated on her with one of the s that comes here to hook up with guys instead of studying.”

“Oh…” he decided to respond. “Did she like him a lot?”

“Yes and no. At first she really liked him because he took really good care of her. Hyuna might be bratty at times but it’s not her fault,” Seohyun explained with a sigh.

“Why what’s wrong with her?” he continued to prod.

“She lives with only her grandmother who is barely able to go to work. Her parents died a long time ago and she had to work really, really hard as a kid to get here. She had been working part time and studying all she could in order to get into a school like this and pay the tuition.” Yonghwa felt a pang of pity enter his heart for the girl. He had judged her too quick and realized she was just like that because of life’s cruel jokes. He could sort of relate to her being from a humble background, but at least he had the warmth of a family to keep him company.

“Is that why she finds her consolation in men?” Yonghwa asked. Seohyun stopped in her tracks at the question and turned to him with a fierce glare. He had never seen that girl give anyone a look like that in his life. It was almost as if she were trying to burn a hole in his face with the stare. It was filled with hate and defiance, two words he never associated with her.

“Are you calling her a Yonghwa?” she questioned through gritted teeth. He sighed at her reaction and let down his guard once he realized what it was about.

“I didn’t say that. All the girls swarming around her were commenting about how ‘the ’ or ‘that ’ had brainwashed another boy to be her play toy,” he explained. Seohyun’s hateful expression changed immediately to one of pity and compassion.

“She’s not like that. Hyuna acts fierce and y as a front. She doesn’t want to show people that she’s really just looking for someone to love her,” Seohyun continued to explain. “Please don’t judge her Yonghwa. She’s a really good friend and I don’t want her to be hurt.”

“Arasso, I won’t say anything like that anymore.” The couple became quiet and once again resumed their trek towards the university’s main building. Yonghwa had to admit that if he added all the pieces together it made sense. Hyuna did seem promiscuous to him, but it was expected that she would fill the void in her heart with what she thought was love.

“You know I think Hyuna fancies you,” Seohyun chuckled. “Although I’m sure you’re well aware of that.”

“Tch, that little thing won’t stop bugging me about how I need to make it up to her for causing her accident,” he sighed while rolling his eyes. “Thanks for giving her my number by the way. I really appreciate it.”

“Your sarcasm isn’t funny by the way. Just be nice to her okay? If she had someone like you in her life, it would be the solution to a lot of her problems.” Yonghwa lagged behind and began to ponder whether he should actually open up to that girl. Something about her just smelled fishy. He couldn’t tell Seohyun that because she would just get angry at him for judging her.

“Did you say something?” he asked while snapping out of his thoughts.

“You’re a sweet guy Yonghwa. I remember how even if it was raining, snowing, hailing, or unbelievably hot outside you would always make sure I made it to my house safely. Even if you had tons of homework to do, you would always stick around and make sure that mine was done first. Even when you had to wake up to go to school early, you would always sit with me by the fountain and listen to me whine until two in the morning.”

“Nah, that was just was friends do,” he awkwardly replied with a cough. The conversation was steering into dangerous territory and he could not have his secret exposed. It was bad enough he almost committed a mortal sin a few minutes ago, he couldn’t have something else come up so soon.

“I know why my dad supports you so much now,” she commented as she walked closer to him that dazzling smile of hers. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize it until you were gone but you’re too good for any of us. Jang Woo, Eun Jung, Joon, Krystal… we’re all so lucky to have someone who we can count on the second something bad happens.” Yonghwa’s heart began to race again. This was bad, things were starting to heat up and he had to get away from the situation soon or else he would crack.

“Seohyun, let’s leave this for another day alright? It’s almost time for my meeting and you have class.”

“Go talk to Hyuna when you can alright? I know I’m playing matchmaker here and it’s too soon to say anything like this to you.” Yonghwa placed a hand in front of her face, forcing her to be quiet. He gave her a stern look and motioned for her to keep walking towards their destination. Seohyun caught the hint and resumed their silent walk.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“I could have just taken the bus you know…” Yonghwa argued with his best friend while driving back home. Joon had somehow managed to skip work and follow Yonghwa around the whole day bugging him about how he was Hyuna’s new hero. To make matters worse, they found Seohyun and Hyuna on their travels around the campus and forced them all to eat lunch together. Now the foursome was all in Joon’s car headed to their respective houses.

“Nonsense, your apartment is on the way back towards mine or did you forget that your building is only a minute’s drive from mine?” Joon argued back. Yonghwa ignored the question and looked out the open window admiring the bustling capital of his homeland. It hadn’t been too long since he got back and he really felt like just aimlessly walking around the streets of the busy city.

“Well here we are,” Joon spoke up after ten minutes of silence. Yonghwa, who had been daydreaming the past few minutes, woke up and looked around the area they were parked in. It wasn’t the usual white and grey buildings that he was used to living around. Instead there were many small, old, dilapidated, and almost rotting buildings huddled together in a mess of mismatched colors.

“Thanks for driving me home Joon,” Hyuna shyly responded. Yonghwa looked over at how she hung her head low in shame as if embarrassed that her rich friends would judge her for living in such an area.

“Do you need help getting back in?” Seohyun asked worriedly. “Joon told me about how the nurse said your ankle is even more injured than before.” Hyuna shook her head weakly and continued to look at the car’s floor ashamedly. Before she knew it, her door clicked open and an outstretched hand was offered to her.

“You gonna sit there all day looking pretty or are you going to get off?” Yonghwa asked in his usual tone towards her. Seohyun laughed at the way his harsh tone contrasted with his sweet actions. Joon looked over at Yonghwa and wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner before giving him an obvious wink. Yonghwa could only roll his eyes at the idiot while he stood there waiting for Hyuna to get off.

Hesitantly, Hyuna took his offer and carefully made her way towards the front door. Even though she tried to walk ahead of him without support, it was obvious her ankle was bad enough to the point where walking was almost not even an option. Yonghwa offered his arm to her once more and helped her limp towards her home.

“I’m home!” she yelled loudly after fumbling to get the door unlocked. An old woman walked out of the cramped kitchen, invoking an even greater sense of pity in Yonghwa’s heart towards Hyuna’s situation. The tiny frame looked like it would collapse on itself any day now. He supposed it was a miracle for her old skeleton to even be able to hold its own weight up. The years of hard work were evident in every one of the thousands of wrinkles in the woman’s face.

The small apartment looked to be in no better shape than her. The yellowing wallpaper was tearing off in odd shapes around the room. The roof seemed to have a few stains of some sorts, most likely from when the roof leaked due to rain. The few pieces of furniture in the living room looked to be just as old if not older than he was. All in all, it was one of the most humble homes he had been in. However, it wasn’t at all unpleasant. The aroma of home cooked food filled the atmosphere, reminding him of his own grandmother’s home. Most important of all, there was an aura of warmth, an aura of love, present. He could tell that even without the two parents in the house, their spirits still lingered watching over their daughter with care.

“Aigoo! What trouble did you get yourself into today young lady!?” the grandmother shrieked when she noticed the cast on her granddaughters ankle. “This is what you get for wearing those heels that make you look like a stripper!”

“Halmeoni…” Hyuna whispered in embarrassment.

“Annyeonghaseyo halmeoni,” Yonghwa spoke up. “Please don’t be mad at Hyuna. It was my fault she became like this.” Both women present looked up at the handsome young man in confusion as he spoke.

“And another man too? My word… what did you become Kim Hyuna? If your mother were alive to see this I would never be able to face her. Nappeun gijibae!” The old woman took Hyuna’s hands and began to slap them with the wooden spoon she had been carrying when she came out of the kitchen.

“Ah! Ah! That hurts grandma!”

“Halmeoni, please accept my apologies. Hyuna didn’t do anything wrong. It was my fault. Please forgive her. If anyone is to get hit it’s me,” he pleaded while bowing his head. The old woman’s expression softened and she retracted the wooden spoon.

“Halmeoni, let me go see him to the door and we can settle this later okay?” Without even allowing the elder to respond, Hyuna pushed Yonghwa towards the door and slammed it forcefully.

“Sorry about that,” she cried in embarrassment. “My grandma is so embarrassing sometimes.”

“Don’t be sorry. Be grateful,” he replied in a soft voice. “She’s only like that because she cares for you.”

“Anyway, just go on home. Joon and Seohyun are waiting for you,” she shooed, obviously in efforts for him to get away from the life she found shameful.

“How do you want me to make it up to you?” he asked, dropping his pride. Seohyun was right about Hyuna, that he could tell. Even if he ended up regretting it, he was far too much of a good guy to hurt this girl that obviously just needed someone to fill the holes in her life.

“What..?”

“You bugged me the whole week to compensate you for your accident. Although I didn’t cause it to begin with, I did end up hurting you today. I’d feel bad if I couldn’t repay you for hurting your ankle more today. Seohyun also told me that your economics teacher almost dropped you off the class list for being late.” Yonghwa looked at her and almost smiled the way that she opened her already large eyes even larger in surprise. He really hoped he wouldn’t regret doing this to help a girl who he didn’t even consider a friend.

“…”

“Well if you don’t need me for anything, I’m out. Bye.” If she was just going to sit there and stare at him like that, she was wasting both his and her time. “By the way, you might want to close your mouth, flies might get in.” In the same way he had brushed her off right before they fell down the stairs, he slowly shuffled his feet away from her and gave her a halfhearted wave.

“Wait! There’s one thing you can do.”

Author’s Note: Okay so I REALLY have to start trying to condense these chapters some more. These 6000 chapters have to go since I’m feeling like a lot of it is just filler. Anyways, another chapter down and another chapter closer for YongSeo to be together. This story seems like it’s turning into a Hyuna and Yonghwa story, but I promise you it will not be. Originally I had no plans for YongSeo interactions until they were close to ending up together. Then I thought it would be a boring YongSeo story without them having them do things like happened in this chapter. Just a bit more and we'll get to the good parts I promise. The more I think about it, the more Seohyun seems like an oblivious in this story so I will try to tone that down. My intention isn’t to make her be a tease for Yonghwa but rather someone who is in love with him as a best friend. Blah this note is now too long. I will see you guys next update :).

**Korean Dictionary**

Yeppeuda – pretty

Uri – our

Nappeun gijibae – this one is a little tricky. It means something along the lines of ‘bad girl’ but it has a slightly stronger meaning. It almost means you ‘bad ’ but Koreans don’t take it quite that far since you can say it on T.V.